Geely Auto Group, a private Chinese auto company owned by Geely Holdings, announced on Tuesday that it has signed a share subscription agreement with Renault Korea Motors, the South Korean subsidiary of Renault Group. The cooperation has yet to be approved by relevant departments.
Upon the deal, Geely Auto will own 34.02% of Renault Korea Motors through its subsidiary, Centurion Industries Limited. Renault Group will remain the largest shareholder, and Renault Korea Motors will maintain its consolidated financial statement with Renault Group.
Geely Holdings and Renault Group, the two key parent companies in the deal, announced their cooperation in January 2022 to launch efficient and energy-saving fuel and intelligent hybrid models in the South Korean and other overseas markets. The new cars will be produced by Renault Samsung’s factory in the city of Busan, and mass production is expected to commence in 2024.
The new car adopts the world-class CMA modular architecture developed by the Geely R&D center in Sweden and uses Geely’s advanced hybrid technology. The product line will take advantage of the existing sales and after-sales network of Renault Korea. As of 2021, in terms of after-sales systems, Renault Korea had ranked first in an automobile consumer survey in South Korea for six consecutive years.
The growing investment reflects the strong confidence of Geely and Renault in the great potential of the South Korean market. The two companies will work together to help Renault Korea enrich its product portfolio in the country and increase both the domestic penetration rate and sales volume, as well as for exports.
