[News-Oxcart Network]
Geely's cooperation with Renault has made new progress.
Geely Holding Group and France's Renault will soon announce an agreement in South Korea to jointly produce and sell hybrid vehicles based on Lynk & Co's energy-saving platform in South Korea and consider exporting duty-free cars to the United States, According to Reuters.
On August 9 this year, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on this matter: in China, the two parties will jointly develop Renault brand hybrid models based on Geely Holding Group's platform technology, and in South Korea, the two sides will cooperate on the Lynk & Co energy-saving platform to jointly develop models suitable for the Korean market.
It can be seen that the cooperation between the two sides is in full swing, and Renault may recover in China, the world's largest automobile market.
Geely expects to partner with Renault to launch a new portfolio of green car series that will use Geely's CMA architecture as well as its supply chain and manufacturing facilities in China. Renault will focus on the design, sales and marketing of new brands in China.
For Geely, the deal allowed it to use Renault's auto assembly plant in South Korea, thus gaining a production foothold in South Korea. For more than 20 years, Renault has been producing and selling cars in South Korea through a local brand and a subsidiary of the Samsung Group.
In addition, Geely may get a "backdoor" into the U.S. market as a result of the deal, as Geely is considering using South Korea's free trade agreement with the United States to export its Lynk & Co vehicles to the world's second-largest auto market.
According to the report, one of the models that Geely plans to produce at Renault's Busan plant is the Lynk & Co 01 SUV. The car is currently available in three powertrains: gasoline-powered, conventional hybrid and plug-in hybrids. Among them, the gasoline-powered and hybrid versions will be produced in South Korea. The aim is to localize the production of Lyck's hybrid vehicles in South Korea, which also means that the two companies will arrange parts suppliers in The country.
It is understood that Renault's operating income in 2020 fell by 21.7% to 43.5 billion euros, and the net loss reached 8.05 billion euros, about 63 billion yuan, which is the largest annual loss in the history of Renault Automobile.
In South Korea, Renault's 80% Renault Samsung Auto has also struggled in recent years. Last year, Renault Samsung sold 116,000 units, including exports, almost halving from 2017, and most of its market share was occupied by local car company Hyundai Kia. As of November this year, Renault Samsung has sold a total of 120,000 vehicles.
In China, Renault is a "gradual defeat". In April last year, Renault sold its stake in the Dongfeng Renault joint venture, announcing its official withdrawal from the fuel passenger car market in the Chinese market. The remaining three joint ventures, EasyJet, Jiangling New Energy and Renault Brilliance, do not have a strong sense of existence. Renault's models have not been able to open up the situation in the Chinese market in terms of positioning, design and product strength, and have gradually been marginalized.
Overall, Renault has become a brand that relies heavily on the European market: in 2020, Renault Group sold nearly 3 million vehicles worldwide, reaching 2,949,849 units; in Europe, its total sales volume was 1,443,917 units, accounting for nearly 50% of Renault's total.
On the other hand, Geely, technically has a CMA architecture, with a strong ability to open, share and extend, the earliest use of the CMA architecture of the Lynk & Co brand, the cumulative sales has approached 500,000 vehicles; in terms of strength, for many years to win the independent brand passenger car sales crown, with a huge volume and very mature sales channels, supply chain system.
More importantly, Geely Automobile, as a private enterprise, already has rich experience in international cooperation. The previous acquisition of Volvo and Proton, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, and several cooperations such as investing in Daimler, let people really see Geely's "magic hand rejuvenation", which is probably the most important thing for Renault at present.
At the beginning of January this year, Renault Group officially released the "Renaulution" strategic plan, combing the group's development in the next five years. The content of the China business is that in the future, it will focus on electric vehicles and light commercial vehicles, reshape the business model in China, leverage assets in China, and develop new mobile solutions for China and the global market with the help of the Chinese industrial ecosystem.
The development of products for Chinese consumers with the help of Chinese car companies' technology is the key to Renault's return to the Chinese consumer market.
epilogue
For Renault, whether it is the Chinese market or the Korean market, through the introduction of Geely's global technology, especially in the Chinese market, it will greatly alleviate Renault's urgent need for technology, products and the market.
For Geely, with the help of Renault, a brand with deep European heritage, it is expected to help Geely Automobile better open up the European and other countries. The reverse export of technology and platform to Renault this time is a shortcut for Geely Automobile to participate in global competition and go to the world, or to gain a good reputation and popularity on the international stage.