China’s Geely Auto to acquire share capital of Renault Korea Motors

Geely Auto, the largest automotive group in China, has signed up a joint venture agreement and a share subscription agreement with Renault Group which comes after the two parties signed a framework agreement in January 2022.

According to sources close to the move, the newly inked deal will offer Geely Holdings 34.02 percent of the total issued share capital of RKM (Renault Korea Motors). However, Renault groups will continue to hold a majority share in RKM and consolidate the firm.

In the first month of the calendar year 2022, both the companies announced a new partnership that was dedicated to launching fuel-efficient HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicles) and ICE (internal combustion Engine) models to the South Korea market along with exploring overseas sales.

The new vehicle models will be manufactured at the present Renault Korea Motors center in Busan, South Korea, however, the volume production is forecasted to begin in the year 2024.

Moreover, the new variants will use Geely’s world-class Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), developed by Geely Holding Group’s Research and Development department based in Sweden, along with taking advantage of the company’s hybrid powertrain technology. 

In addition, with this, the Renault and RKM will integrate their pioneering technologies, and provide expertise in design and customer experience, to stand out from the local market expectations.

The new hybrid vehicles will be sold through the existing Renault Motors Korea sales and aftersales network which has been ranked first for the 6 consecutive years until 2021 in the survey of domestic automotive consumer held by Consumer Insight.

Apart from this, the capital increase signifies strong belief of both the companies in their new product portfolio that it will bolster the market share in the South Korean domestic market along with exploring export market opportunities.

Source Credit: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/05/09/2439164/0/en/RENAULT-GROUP-Geely-Automobile-Holdings-to-acquire-34-02-of-the-shares-of-Renault-Korea-Motors.html