Aston Martin and China are teaming up to fight Tesla

This week, Aston Martin unveiled its new RapidE Concept. The fully electric concept car is based on the British sports car maker's production Rapide S sedan. Although Aston's current lineup consists of mainly of V8 and V12 engined sports cars, the company has recently made electrification a major priority in its future plans.

"We see luxury electric vehicles as an intrinsic part of our future product portfolio and welcome ChinaEquity into the next phase of study for the project development," Aston Martin CEO Dr. Andy Palmer said in a statement.

"The exciting RapidE concept tangibly demonstrates the capability and ambition of Aston Martin towards developing low- and zero-emission sports cars."

Aston's Sino-British partnership announcment comes during this week's state visit to Britain by Chinese president Xi Jinping.