Renault Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration with Chinese company Geely Holding. According to the agreement, Geely will produce and sell Renault-branded hybrid vehicles in China, while Renault will help Lynk & Co to expand its sales in South Korea.
Geely, the largest privately-owned automaker in China, will use its own resources and technologies to produce Renault’s hybrid vehicles in existing local factories. The French group will “contribute on branding strategy, channel and service development”. The new partnership is signaling Renault’s return to China after 2020 when the previous joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group ended. It is likely that the China-built, Renault-branded hybrids will be also exported to other markets in the future.
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As reported by Automotive News, while the agreement is focused on hybrid models, it is rumored that it could eventually evolve in jointly developing electric vehicles. This is hinted at in the official statement which states that “both partners will continue to explore in-depth further potential, under the spirit of open and innovative partnership model”.
By producing Renault’s hybrids in its own factories, Geely will gain expertise. Another benefit for the Chinese company is that it will be able to utilize Renault Samsung Motor’s experience in the South Korean market with a presence of over two decades in order to “explore localization of vehicles based on Lynk & Co’s energy-efficient vehicle platforms”.
This is not the first European automaker to sign an agreement with Geely. The joint venture between Daimler and Geely will allow China-built, Smart-branded EVs to be sold all over the world.
