A Chinese billionaire has started a venture to launch satellites, rivalling similar ambitions from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Li Shufu, the owner of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a Chinese automotive giant in control of Volvo Cars, is hoping the satellites will steer the steer the company on the right track in the development of autonomous vehicles by offering “highly accurate” navigation solutions.

Testing of driverless cars across the world involves picking up data with sensors from satellites for precise geolocation information.

The company said on Tuesday that it has started on the construction of a $325m (£254m) production and testing centre for satellites in Taizhou, a city of almost six million people on the coast of the East China Sea.

“Today, the automotive industry faces huge challenges and equally huge opportunities. Geely must take the initiative to embrace change, develop through innovation, find new synergies online and offline,” Mr Li said.