- While the firm’s plan is not “100% yet,” it has spoken with the Polish government.
- The car manufacturer recently opened a new testing base in Frankfurt, Germany.
- Chinese rival Chery has committed to building EVs at a factory in Spain.
Geely is on the lookout for a site to establish a large production facility in Europe, although it has cautioned that it’s yet to fully commit to the plan.
Like several other Chinese car manufacturers, Geely is eager to grow its presence in new markets, and Europe presents a compelling option for it. While recently speaking in Frankfurt, Germany, Geely Auto Group vice president Li Chuanhai was asked if the brand would build a plant in the region. “It is not 100% yet,” he responded.
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However, Geely is known to have had extensive talks with the Polish government earlier this year. The administration’s deputy minister of development funds and regional policy, Jan Szyszko, has said that either a new EV factory will be built in the country that will manufacture EVs and sell them to locals, or a new EV factory will be positioned in another EU county, yet still sell them in Poland. It’s obvious which of those two options is preferable for the country.
The current state of these talks is unclear, but sources say the Polish government does not view Geely as an ideal partner. According to Geely’s Li, the company has “a lot of possibilities” as it looks to expand in Europe.
The European chief executive of Geely’s Lynk & Co brand, Nicolas Appelgren, told Reuters the marque is actively scouting locations across the continent without providing further details.
Geely recently opened a new base in Frankfurt, where it will test and develop 13 new-energy vehicles to see how they perform and comply with European certification standards.
In April, fellow Chinese automotive juggernaut Chery announced it would produce battery-electric vehicles at a plant in Barcelona, Spain. The cars will be built at a plant formerly operated by Nissan through a joint venture with Ebro-EV Motors. Chery plans to be able to produce 50,000 vehicles per year by 2027 and 150,000 units by 2029.
