Renault teams up with Geely in joint venture

Renault and China's Geely said on Tuesday they have agreed to launch a new, equally held joint venture that will supply internal combustion engines (ICE) and hybrid technology to the brands they own as well as to other carmakers.

The agreement represents an important benchmark in a months-long effort by the French carmaker to carve out its ICE car business as a separate company.

The joint venture will employ 19,000 people at 17 power-train factories and three R&D hubs, the companies said, adding they expect to reach a final agreement and launch the new company in 2023.

The preliminary agreement with Geely, with which Renault has been negotiating in earnest for at least three months, is non-binding, a person with knowledge of the terms said.

The new company will be based in London, said the person, who was not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. Renault and Geely will each hold 50%, the companies said in a statement that did not detail other financial terms.

For Geely, the deal extends its pattern of building partnerships to expand beyond China. Geely also owns Volvo Cars and has a 9.7% stake in Daimler.

Renault has also been in negotiations with its existing alliance partner, Nissan, about new investment in an electric vehicle venture it also plans to establish. The Japanese carmaker has said it is considering an investment in that venture which has been code-named Ampere.

Nissan has raised concerns about the treatment of intellectual property, including battery and power train technology, in its talks with Renault and has indicated those concerns extend to any partnership the French carmaker strikes with Geely, people with knowledge of the discussions have said.

Renault and Geely said they expect their new joint venture would supply internal combustion engines and hybrid power trains to Nissan and the junior partner in Renault’s existing alliance, Mitsubishi Motors.

They said it would have the capacity to supply about 5-million engines and hybrid systems a year once operational.

Li, Shufu, Geely Group chair, said: “Today’s agreement with Renault Group will enable the creation of a global leader in hybrid technologies to provide highly efficient advanced solutions for automakers around the world.”

Nissan had no immediate comment.

The announcement came ahead of Renault’s capital markets day on Tuesday in Paris where CEO Luca de Meo is scheduled to update investors on the company's strategy and financial projections.

Renault’s De Meo has said the carmaker was seeking a partner that would bring scale and drive down cost in its internal combustion business, including hybrids.

Renault and Geely also have an existing joint venture in South Korea.

Separately, Volvo said it would divest its 33% stake in its Aurobay unit to Geely, without disclosing terms.

Reuters