Geely: Renault's Chinese Partner With Global Ambitions

Beijing, Nov 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2022 ) :Chinese carmaker Geely was announced this week as a new partner of Renault, with the French firm implementing a sweeping overhaul as it expands its electric car business.

Renault and Geely will together form "Horse", a subsidiary for thermal and hybrid cars that will employ 19,000 people.

Here is what you need to know about Geely.

- Self-taught billionaire - The man behind Geely is Li Shufu, the son of a farmer who became a self-taught billionaire.

Li is now the 111th richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires list, with $13.8 billion in assets.

He started out in photography, borrowing money from his parents to buy a camera and open a small studio.

He founded a modest household appliance factory in 1986, which grew to become the Geely Group.

- Fridges to cars - Geely initially produced low-cost refrigerator parts before moving on to construction materials.

The group changed tack again in the late 1990s and started making scooters, its first roots in the automotive sector.

Geely was one of the first private automobile manufacturers in China, in contrast to the state-owned behemoths that dominated the sector at the time.

- Masterstroke - Geely was a minnow in the huge Chinese market in 2010, and unknown outside the country.

But it pulled off a masterstroke by buying world-renowned Swedish brand Volvo for $1.5 billion.

Geely took advantage of Volvo's reputation for safety and robustness, both concerns frequently levied at Chinese manufacturers, to boost its sales in China.

- Asset binge - Geely made a flurry of investments after buying a British taxi manufacturer in 2013.

It became the main shareholder in British sports car maker Lotus in 2017, then in the American flying car start-up Terrafugia.

Geely did it again a year later by acquiring a stake in Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz.

The sudden emergence of a Chinese company at the heart of a national flagship caused concern in Germany.

- A foothold in Europe - Geely has been looking to strengthen its position in Europe.

Its Lynk & Co brand, launched in close cooperation with Volvo, targets a young, well-connected and cosmopolitan client�le.

It has produced highly sophisticated small electric cars since 2020, designed in China but manufactured in Belgium.