Reuters
China’s Geely buys stake in Renault Korea, eyeing US exports
China’s Geely Automobile will buy just over a third of Renault’s Korea unit for roughly $200 million, potentially helping it boost U.S. exports, and freeing up funds for the French automaker to invest in its electric business. Renault, which can assemble 300,000 vehicles a year in its factory in Busan, South Korea, is in the middle of a turnaround aimed at increasing margins and separating its electric vehicle (EV) business to catch up with rivals such as Tesla. The French firm’s move to sell the stake to Geely – which owns Volvo Cars and a 9.7% stake in Daimler AG – follows an announcement by the two companies in January to develop hybrid vehicles for South Korea and abroad, produced at the Busan plant.
