logo
Exclusive: Geely, Renault in talks over sales, manufacturing deals in Brazil, sources say

Exclusive: Geely, Renault in talks over sales, manufacturing deals in Brazil, sources say

Reuters12-02-2025

PARIS/SHANGHAI, Feb 12 (Reuters) - French automaker Renault (RENA.PA), opens new tab and its Chinese partner Geely (0175.HK), opens new tab (GEELY.UL) plan to announce a deal later this month on expanding their cooperation to Brazil, three sources said, as they seek new growth markets amid broadening global trade wars.
The two firms created a thermal engine joint venture last year and have since also started selling cars produced in a jointly owned factory in South Korea.
They are now planning to further expand their partnership to Brazil, and are working on a preliminary deal that they aim to announce later this month, the sources familiar with the matter said. They declined to be named as the talks are not public yet.
Under the deal, the Chinese firm would start using Renault's Brazilian retail network as early as this year to begin sales of Geely-branded vehicles exported from China, two of the sources said.
The deal would also see Geely taking a minority stake in Renault Brazil and using the latter's Curitiba plant to assemble vehicles there, the two sources said. It was not immediately clear how big the potential investment would be.
Renault and Geely declined to comment. The plan for Geely to build its presence in Brazil by selling exported cars via Renault's retail network has not previously been reported. Les Echos had earlier outlined their talks on investment and local production.
The move will help boost capacity usage at Renault's plant in Brazil, the French firm's fifth largest overseas market, and aligns with its broader plan to reduce its reliance on the European market.
It would also help Geely, whose main export market is Europe, expand into new markets as it grapples with bruising price competition at home and hefty tariffs imposed by several developed markets including the U.S., Canada and the EU on China-made vehicles.
Amid rising trade tensions and overcapacity in China, Chinese automakers have been exploring opportunities in markets such as Russia, South America, the Middle East and Africa for export growth.
Brazil was the fastest-growing market for exports of EVs and plug-in hybrids from China last year, with shipments more than doubling to 152,000 units, according to Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association.
It also became the second largest market for Chinese new energy vehicles - which include electric and hybrid models - after Belgium, he said.
In Brazil, Geely would sell cars under its own brand, unlike in the Korean partnership which currently focuses on a single Renault-branded model, the Grand Koleos, built on Geely's platform and manufactured in a Renault-controlled plant in Busan, South Korea.
Technical details of the partnership in Brazil are still being considered, and one of the sources said that Geely could set up its multi-energy platform in the Renault plant to manufacture gasoline cars, hybrid cars and pure EVs.
Stay up to date with the latest news, trends and innovations that are driving the global automotive industry with the Reuters Auto File newsletter. Sign up here.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Denmark picks French, German and Norwegian air defence suppliers
Denmark picks French, German and Norwegian air defence suppliers

Reuters

time16 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Denmark picks French, German and Norwegian air defence suppliers

COPENHAGEN, June 10 (Reuters) - Denmark will acquire short-range air defence systems from MBDA France, Germany's Diehl Defence and Kongsberg Gruppen ( opens new tab of Norway, the Nordic country's defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in February ordered the military to go on a buying spree to beef up the country's defences in preparation for potential future Russian aggression in Europe. Denmark will spend over six billion Danish crowns ($919 million) on the artillery acquisition, with the first deliveries expected in 2026, the defence ministry said. Denmark received 10 offers, including from suppliers in Turkey, Israel and Italy, and decided in the end to buy systems from French and German suppliers and to lease one from Norway's Kongsberg, it added. ($1 = 6.5304 Danish crowns)

China is only 3-6 months behind US in AI, Trump official says
China is only 3-6 months behind US in AI, Trump official says

Reuters

time16 minutes ago

  • Reuters

China is only 3-6 months behind US in AI, Trump official says

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - China is three to six months behind the United States in artificial intelligence, White house AI and crypto czar David Sacks said Tuesday at an event in Washington, warning that excess U.S. AI regulation could damage American innovation in the industry. "China is not years and years behind us in AI. Maybe they're 3-6 months,' said Sacks, speaking at the AWS summit in Washington. "It's a very close race."

US energy loan office should fund oil, gas, White House aide says
US energy loan office should fund oil, gas, White House aide says

Reuters

time20 minutes ago

  • Reuters

US energy loan office should fund oil, gas, White House aide says

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department's loan office should fund oil and gas infrastructure, a White House aide said on Tuesday. "One of the big problems is, in the past the ... loan program office has been used for a lot of these renewable projects," Jarrod Agen, a deputy assistant to the president and executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council, said at a Politico conference on energy. The Loan Programs Office grew rapidly under former President Joe Biden, thanks to legislation passed during his term, and has hundreds of billions of dollars in loan and loan guarantee capacity. Agen said the administration is changing the priority of the LPO, which is meant to help finance emerging energy projects that show promise but face difficulties getting bank loans. "So, yes, we want to invest more and prioritize projects that are oil and gas-related, nuclear-related," Agen said. President Donald Trump's new energy dominance council has focused on increasing already record-high oil and gas output and cutting climate and pollution regulations on fossil fuels. In his first term, Trump only used the LPO to finance the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia. The Trump administration wants to offer tens of billions of dollars in LPO financing over the next two years to projects developing nuclear and geothermal power and minerals used in everything from wind and solar power to weapons systems, according to the White House budget for fiscal 2026. Republicans in the House have pushed to slash LPO's lending.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store