Geely purchases stake in Renault Korea with plans to export to US

May 11, 2022: Geely purchases stake in Renault with plans to export to US

Chinese automotive manufacturer Geely has purchased 34.02 per cent of Renault Korea, with expansions throughout South-East Asia and North America planned.

After the two manufactuers signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this year, the Chinese brand moved to take over one-third of Renault Korea's share capital, although the Korean arm of the French manufacturer will remain as the majority shareholder.

The joint venture will result in an "all-new vehicle line-up of fuel-efficient hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) and internal combustion engine (ICE) models" from Geely to enter the South Korean market, with Renault's existing facility in Busan, South Korea, to kick off production in 2024.

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Renault Samsung Motors currently operates in South Korea under a separate badge to standard Renault models

Geely says the new models will be underpinned by its Swedish-developed Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) and hybrid powertrains, while Renault's input comes from its "cutting-edge technologies, expertise in design and customer experience, to exceed the local market expectations".

While Geely's statement doesn't expand on its intentions to explore overseas markets, Automotive News Europe reports the United States is a major target, with the Renault partnership allowing Geely to gain easier passage to North America.

Read on below to find out more about the two manufacturers announcing the first stage of their partnership last year, which focused on Renault expanding in China.

The story to here

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August 10, 2021: Renault to produce hybrid vehicles for China in joint co-operation with Geely

A memorandum of understanding between Chinese manufacturer Geely and French firm Renault has been signed, seeing the latter return to China after scaling back operations last year.

Through sharing information with each other, Renault plans to build on Geely's local product knowledge to thrive in the country, rebranding the Chinese company's hybrid vehicles as its own.

The joint co-operation won't only favour Renault, with Geely set to build on the success of the French marque's Samsung Motors in South Korea by introducing vehicles in the local market based on sub-brand Lynk & Co's energy-efficient platforms.

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Geely is China's biggest manufacturer, expecting to sell 1.5 million cars this year in its local market

Until last year, Renault and partner Nissan had been in a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng Motor Group, with the former dissolving the venture while the latter remains engaged in the partnership.

Geely recently had 50 per cent of its shares in subsidiary Volvo bought out, with the Swedish manufacturer taking full ownership of its Chinese production facilities from 2023 – a year after the Chinese Government lifts its requirement for foreign carmakers to engage in a joint venture to operate in the country.

Renault has already set a target of reaching 90 per cent EV production by 2030, doing so with the use of new architecture which will be implemented in its vehicles over the coming years.