Geely chairman Li Shufu recently acquired a 9.69% stake in Daimler AG and reports suggested he had the ultimate goal of creating a partnership between the two automakers.
The news wasn’t entirely welcomed as some Daimler and Volvo executives weren’t sold on a partnership. In particular, one Daimler executive said “Ideally we want a win-win alliance. Handing Volvo and Geely our Mercedes technology is not win-win.”
The frosty relationship appears to be thawing as Germany’s Manager Magazin reports the two companies could develop a joint platform for electric vehicles. The report goes on to say Geely has been developing a new architecture for EVs for “some time” and the two companies may also be open to jointly producing battery cells.
The partnership could also pave the way for Mercedes engines to be offered in Volvo models. There’s no word on specifics but sources in Stuttgart reportedly told the publication that Daimler would also be willing to share other components as well.
One of the more interesting claims in the report suggests Daimler could take a small stake in Volvo. Details are limited but it appears this would be a little more than a token gesture as article says the move would be used to show a “willingness to cooperate.” If the company does indeed purchase a stake in Volvo, it would reportedly only be a “couple of percent.”
When reached by Reuters, Volvo declined to comment on the report while a Daimler spokesperson dismissed it as “pure speculation which we will not comment on.”
