Renault Group and Geely forge partnership to collaborate on internal combustion and hybrid tech development

Way back in November last year, Geely and the Renault Group created a non-binding agreement to create a new powertrain company that will produce both internal combustion engines and hybrid powertrains. Now, that agreement has now become official, solidifying the collaboration between the Renault Group, which includes Nissan and Mitsubishi as alliance partners, and Geely. This partnership aims to merge their internal combustion engine development and manufacturing operations.

The newly formed group was established as a 50/50 joint venture between Geely and Renault. As mentioned before, the new powertrain company will be dedicated to the creation, production, and distribution of more efficient internal combustion and hybrid powertrains, including plug-in variants. Moreover, all intellectual property related to combustion and hybrid powertrains held by both companies will be transferred to the joint venture. The ambitious goal of this venture is to manufacture up to five million internal combustion, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid engines as well as transmission units annually.

Renault stated that the primary objective of the new company is to emerge as the industry leader in advanced hybrid and highly efficient powertrain solutions, catering to global demand anticipated in the foreseeable future.

The joint venture will be jointly managed by Renault Group and Geely, with an equal representation of board members responsible for guiding the direction of the collaboration. To ensure seamless business operations, the initial organization will establish two operational centers: one in Madrid for Renault and one in Hangzhou Bay for Geely. An executive team will be situated at the headquarters of the new company, which is planned to be established in the United Kingdom. 

In terms of its size and global presence, the new company will have a total of 17 engine plants scattered across the world, along with five research and development centers situated in three different continents. When the company launches, it will supply engines and other components to several brands such as the Renault Group, Geely Auto, Volvo Cars, Proton, Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors Company, and Punch Torino. This could mean we’ll see some new engines from this company powering Nissan and Mitsubishi cars in the future.