Geely to pay US$200 million for a third of Renault Korea as China’s largest private-sector carmaker sets sights on exporting to the US
- Renault will sell 34 per cent of its South Korea unit to Geely for 264 billion won (US$207 million)
- Renault, which can assemble 300,000 vehicles a year in Busan, is in the middle of a turnaround aimed at increasing margins and separating its EV business
The French firm’s move to sell the stake to Geely – which owns Volvo Cars and a 9.7 per cent stake in Daimler – follows an announcement by the two companies in January to develop hybrid vehicles for South Korea and abroad, produced at the Busan plant.
For Geely, which has typically grown its business through global partnerships, the deal goes beyond selling cars in South Korea and is a way for the Chinese carmaker to export cars made in South Korea to America, a person close to the company said.
“It is an open door into the US,” said the person who declined to be named because the plans are confidential.
The person said that while the details of how the partnership would work had not yet been sorted completely, Geely might initially use the Busan plant to make electric robotaxis for Waymo, Alphabet Inc’s self-driving unit with which it has an existing supply agreement.