PARIS – Renault Group has moved to shore up its struggling South Korea operations, formally signing a deal with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to design and build hybrid and internal-combustion vehicles for the local market and export.
The new cars, based based on Geely’s Compact Modular Architecture, or CMA, as well as its hybrid powertrain and other technologies, will be produced at the Renault-Samsung facility in Busan with production to begin in 2024.
The agreement, which has been in the works since last year, is Geely’s latest tie-up with a European automaker. Renault and Geely will also collaborate in China, after Renault dissolved its main joint venture there with Dongfeng.
“This collaboration marks a further step in efforts by the two automobile groups in producing low-emission models, as well as increasing their penetration in the Asian HEV markets,” the companies said in a statement on Friday, referring to gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle technology.
Geely Holding, led by Li Shufu, is the parent company of Volvo Car Group, including electric-only Polestar; subscription-focused Lynk & CO; Lotus Group; Smart Automobile; and the London Electric Vehicle Co. It also has a nearly 10 percent stake in Daimler.
The CMA architecture underpins Volvo’s XC40 and C40; Lynk & CO’s 01 and other models sold in China; the Polestar 2; and an array of Geely-branded vehicles in China. It can accommodate internal-combustion, full- or plug-in hybrid and full-electric drivetrains.
Geely says nearly 1.3 million CMA vehicles have been sold.
