Renault is in talks with carmakers including China’s Chery to explore partnerships to jointly produce and sell cars, a senior executive said.
Fabrice Cambolive, director of growth at Groupe Renault, spoke to reporters on Friday when addressing the conclusion, published this Monday (3), of an agreement in Brazil with the Chinese Geely.
The move highlights how Renault has increasingly partnered with other automakers, especially Chinese ones, in global markets to improve the efficiency of its factories around the world and increase the competitiveness of its products.
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according to a press release issued Monday. The two companies are joining forces in Latin America’s largest market, where BYD has been building a factory and gaining ground with its affordable electric and plug-in hybrid models.
“This type of partnership is clearly a winning partnership because we are expanding access to different platforms, industrial tools, engineering and a distribution network,” Cambolive said at a press conference.
“This does not preclude other agreements with other manufacturers in other markets,” he said, adding that Chery is one of the carmakers Renault is in contact with to explore similar partnerships, although no projects have been finalized.
As part of the agreement in Brazil, Geely will have access to Renault’s factory in São José dos Pinhais, in the state of Paraná, to assemble Geely-branded cars and distribute them through Renault’s sales network, while Renault will use Geely’s vehicle architecture to expand its range to other segments in the Brazilian market.
Cambolive said the partnership aims to increase the factory’s utilization rate. It is currently operating at about 50% of its annual capacity of 400,000 units.
Renault has car factories in about a dozen countries, including France, Spain and India. It has also been producing and selling the Grand Koleos, developed on the Geely platform in South Korea, since 2024.
