Officials in Daimler and Volvo appeared skeptical over the viability and reasoning of Geely’s plan to form a new huge alliance between their companies.
Geely’s founder and CEO announced last month that he built an almost 10 percent stake in Daimler, which made him the largest single shareholder of the German company, in a bid to gain access to their EV and autonomous technologies.
Executives from both Daimler and Volvo Cars at the Geneva Motor Show however questioned how a deal could work out without resulting in compromises over their own independence and leadership in key areas, Reuters reports.
“Ideally we want a win-win alliance. Handing Volvo and Geely our Mercedes technology is not win-win,” one Mercedes-Benz executive, who didn’t want to be named.
Geely’s plan also raises another challenge for the Germans, as Mercedes-Benz already has established an alliance with Renault-Nissan. It also has an existing deal to build normal and electric cars in China with BAIC.
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche welcomed his new shareholder with caution at the Geneva Motor Show, expressing his admiration for Li and Geely but also said that any alliance would depend on keeping BAIC happy. “We will examine everything if it is in keeping with the wishes of our partner,” said Zetsche.
That skepticism was also apparent with Volvo’s executives. Carmakers will always be unwilling to share in areas of expertise where they have a competitive advantage, said Volvo Cars Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson.
For Volvo this would be autonomous driving technologies. “If you believe you can do it better yourself, you have no interest to share it with somebody else,” Samuelsson said.
Sharing other, more basic parts like brakes, shock absorbers and gearboxes is tricky too, as these can already be bought from suppliers, making it hard to have a meaningful alliance, Samuelsson added.