Renault and Geely team up for new powertrain tech venture

Renault and Geely are getting together to work on powertrains. Announced on 11 July 2023, the agreement says there’ll be a joint venture to create a new powertrain company.

The parent companies have committed to developing, manufacturing and supplying top-notch powertrains for next-gen hybrid models and efficient internal combustion engines, which can also work with synthetic fuels. They’ll be developed alongside Saudi Aramco, which announced investment in the venture in March. 

The new company will supply multiple car brands under Renault and Geely’s respective umbrellas, including Volvo, Nissan and Mitsubishi, for passenger cars – and in Renault’s case, light commercial vehicles. 

The collaboration will be split between Madrid and Hangzhou Bay, but will be headquartered in that famous midpoint between those two locations; the, er, UK. The numbers are reasonable though.

Using 17 engine plants, five R&D centres and 19,000 employees across three continents, the joint venture aims to have production capacity of five million units a year. 

Speaking about the partnership, Renault Group bossman Luca de Meo, said: “Facing today’s automotive challenges, no one can claim to have all the solutions, alone. Coming up with breakthrough innovations requires combining expertise and assets. 

“When it comes to the global race for decarbonising road transports, there is no time to lose, and it will not be business as usual.  We are proud to join forces with a great company like Geely to set up a new player, up to the challenge, able to disrupt the game and open the way for ultra-low emissions ICE technologies. I want to thank Eric Li Shufu for his trust: we are now ready to move forward!”

Daniel Li, CEO of Geely Holding Group, said of Aramco’s role: “We welcome Aramco in joining us in the creation of a globally leading sustainable powertrain company. The proposed investment by Aramco represents recognition from global industry leaders in the Powertrain’s future business prospects and vision for pioneering low and carbon-free fuels such as methanol and hydrogen."

It'll all start kicking off later in the year once various regulatory hurdles have been squared away.