Volvo, Mercedes and now Renault. This Tuesday, the Chinese group Geely and the French announced their partnership to create an equipment supplier dedicated to thermal and hybrid engines. This new joint venture, 50/50 between the two partners, with an announced turnover of 15 billion euros in the first year, establishes the Chinese manufacturer a little more as a global player in the automotive industry.
Because if the Geely name doesn’t necessarily tell you much, the group has since the beginning of the decade woven many car deals, especially in Europe. And this, in all discretion, thanks in particular to its president and founder Li Shufu (62nd fortune in the world according to the Forbes ranking).
Volvo, Polaris, Lynk&Co
Founded in 1986, the company that initially sold home appliances became a car manufacturer in 1998 in Hangzhou, its hometown in the east of the country. Geely Automobile Holdings remains today the leading private manufacturer alongside major public groups such as SAIC, GreatWall and BYD.
The group’s first big move dates back to March 2010, with the acquisition of Volvo from Ford; today, it is an 82% shareholder in the Swedish manufacturer. From a dying brand, Volvo has once again become a premium claw capable of competing with German brands in terms of comfort and technology, particularly electrified.
Alongside this well-known name in automotive history, Geely launched Lynk&Co in 2016, a brand aimed at a younger, more connected audience. Online shopping, production in China and assembly in Europe, Lynk&Co has also been delighting car rental companies in the Old Continent for several months (almost 60% of its sales, a modest volume indeed). The group also rejects Polestar, Volvo’s original sports brand, as an electric sports brand. Enough to gradually cover the entire spectrum of zero emission cars.
Daimler’s first shareholder
Geely’s second big move dates back to early March 2018. Geely founder and owner Li Shufu reveals that he took 9.69% of Daimler, then the parent company of the Mercedes brand. Of which he becomes the first shareholder, which causes concern in Germany. Little by little, the two groups strengthened their ties, in particular creating a 50/50 joint venture to ensure the future of Smart, as a 100% electric brand dedicated to urban mobility. Originally produced at the Moselle in Hambach, future Smarts will eventually be assembled in China.
Tuesday’s announcement of the creation of a joint venture with Renault is also the result of a long process between the two brands. And it’s not his first deal. In August 2021, to get out of a useless Chinese strategy with DongFeng, Renault has already trusted Geely: the French brand relies on its technologies and factories to produce hybrid models.
Renault and Geely are also partners in Korea. In May, Geely took a 34% stake in Renault Korean Motors together with the French group and Samsung, its historical partner in the country. Starting in 2024, the Busan plant will produce thermal vehicles based on Volvo architectures. And soon the technologies of “Horse”, the new global supplier of equipment?
Source: BFM TV
