FRANKFURT, Sept 11 (Askume) – Chinese automaker Geely Automobile (0175.HK) is looking for a factory site in Europe but has not yet fully committed to expanding local production, an auto group executive said in an interview with Askume in Frankfurt.
“Not 100% yet,” said Li Chuanhai, vice president of Geely Automobile Group, a brand owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (GEELY.UL), when asked if the automaker would build a factory in the region.
Geely and Poland’s new government are in talks to build a joint electric vehicle factory in the country, but officials told Askume earlier this year that they do not see Geely as an ideal partner.
When asked about the talks, Lee said, “We have several possibilities.” He declined to give further details.
Nicolas Applegren, CEO of Geely’s Lynk & Co brand Europe, said Geely is looking for sites in the region.
Upgren said the brand currently sells only one hybrid model in Europe and will launch a Chinese-made electric car in Italy next month , but has plans to build the next generation of electric cars in Europe, but he gave no details. There is no specific timetable.
Geely is China’s second-largest automaker, surpassing BYD (002594.SZ) in sales last year. It owns Volvo Cars,It has a joint venture with Renault and stakes in Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz (MBGN.DE) .
The company on Wednesday opened a base in Frankfurt where it plans to test 13 so-called “new energy vehicles”, the term used for hybrid, pure electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles in the Chinese car market, to evaluate their performance and compliance with European homologation standards.
Geely joins companies including Great Wall Motors and Chery in backing the European Commission’s plan to tighten trade barriers on electric vehicle imports from overseas . Beijing Talks.
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