South Korea's Renault Automobile announced on the 10th that following the announcement of Geely Group, China's largest private enterprise, to carry out environmental protection new car development cooperation based on the CMA platform, Geely Automobile Holdings, a subsidiary of Geely Group, will participate in 34.02% of Renault Korea Automobile. Geely Automobile Group, which partnered with Renault Earlier this year. However, even after Geely Group's stake, Renault Group's position as the largest shareholder of Renault Korea Automobile continued.
[1] Geely purchased a 34.02% stake in Renault Korea
In January, Renault Korea Motor, Renault Group, and Geely Group announced that they will develop and produce joint models such as new eco-friendly hybrid models for the Korean market, and will launch them from 2024. In addition, the joint venture model decided to jointly explore the global market.
For the development of this joint model, Geely Group will provide the world-renowned CMA platform and the next-generation hybrid system developed by the Swedish R&D center. On this basis, Renault Group will be responsible for the design of the vehicle, and Renault Korean automotive researchers will develop and launch new products with advanced functions to meet the needs of domestic consumers. In addition, domestic consumers in South Korea will be able to meet the planned joint models launched in 2024 in the national sales network of Renault Korean Automobiles with the highest service quality, and can use all of Renault Korea's after-sales service.
Stefan DeBless, CEO of Renault Korea, said: "The decision to participate in Geely Group's stake in the Korean market means that we will be more active in developing joint models with Renault Korea Based on the high potential of the Korean market and increasing synergies. "As a member of the Renault Group, South Korea's Renault Automobile will also carry out self-rescue work."
Meanwhile, Renault Korea Motor Company announced a new name and logo in March.
[2] Renault is currently the worst-selling automobile company in South Korea!
When it comes to the Korean auto market, can you only think of Hyundai Kia, in fact, there are six major car brands in South Korea. Let's rank it according to the latest market data for April 2022. The number one selling brand is Kia. Hyundai, the second most car-selling. The third best-selling one is Genisesy, Hyundai's high-end brand. The fourth-best-selling one is SsangYong Motors. The fifth sales volume is Chevrolet, Chevrolet's predecessor is GM Daewoo, Daewoo was also a Korean brand, in 1997 the Asian financial crisis bankruptcy was acquired by GM, and later became Chevrolet. In sixth place is South Korea's Renault. Renault's predecessor was Renault Samsung, which originally built cars in South Korea, and later was acquired by Renault for most of the shares, which became Renault in South Korea. How many Renaults sold in South Korea in April 2022? There are only 2328 vehicles. It can be said that it is very little, and the performance is very bad. Number one Kia Cars sold 50,995 units in April.
Therefore, at present, Renault South Korea can be said to be in jeopardy in the Korean market.
[3] What did Geely like about Renault?
Renault's market performance in South Korea is so bad, why does Geely Auto still collect 34.02% of the shares? I think there are several reasons why.
First, South Korea is a country with a very developed automobile industry, and hyundai Kia's products, including models, are very competitive in the Korean domestic market, which is very different from hyundai companies in the Chinese market. By acquiring a stake in Renault, Geely Automobile can legitimately enter the Korean market to compete with first-line giants such as Hyundai-Kia. Yes, Hyundai Kia is the world's number one automotive giant. Don't just look at hyundai Kia's performance in the Chinese market, this is not a reference.
Second, Renault has almost no research and development in South Korea. Renault's models in the Korean market are also European models, and they are produced in South Korea unchanged. Therefore, European cars are not suitable for the Korean market. This is also the reason why Renault has not developed well in South Korea.
But Renault has a factory in South Korea, and it also has a sales and after-sales network throughout Korea. This is the asset of Renault Korea, which Geely Automobile values most. Through the existing factory and sales aftermarket system, as long as there are enough competitive models, then the market performance may be reversed.
Third, France's Renault is not a global automotive company. It can only be regarded as a regional enterprise, especially a company centered on the European market. But Renault's globalization is better than Geely's. In 2021, Renault sold 2.696 million vehicles worldwide, similar to the sales of brand models under Geely Holding Group. If Geely adds Volvo Lynk & Co, the global sales can also be more than 2 million vehicles, so the cooperation between Renault and Geely is a more reciprocal relationship. Renault's main focus is on Geely's technology, so in the future it will also help Geely to push the model overseas, other countries. Therefore, the acquisition of Renault Korea's shares to enter the Korean market is not Geely's purpose, and South Korea is how big a place it is. With South Korea as a springboard to enter the world, other countries are what Geely wants.