French carmaker Renault said on Monday it has signed a deal with Chinese Geely to sell it a 26.4% stake in its Brazilian subsidiary, thus continuing the strategic cooperation between the companies.
As a minority shareholder, Geely will have access to Renault do Brasil's industrial and commercial resources, allowing it to accelerate its expansion in the region's automotive market.
Renault do Brasil will make Geely Auto-branded vehicles alongside Renault vehicles at the Ayrton Senna plant in Sao Jose dos Pinhais in the state of Parana, the French company said.
Following the agreement, Reuters reported that Renault is in talks with more automakers, including China's Chery, to explore partnerships to jointly produce and sell cars, citing a top executive.
Fabrice Cambolive, Renault Group's chief growth officer, told reporters on Friday about the talks while announcing the completion on Monday of a deal in Brazil with China's Geely.
The move underscores how Renault has been increasingly partnering with other automakers, especially Chinese ones, in global markets to improve the efficiency of its factories worldwide and enhance product competitiveness.
Renault signed definitive agreements to sell Geely 26.4% of its Brazilian subsidiary, according to a press release on Monday. The two are joining hands in the largest Latin American market, where BYD has been building a factory and gaining ground with its affordable pure electric and plug-in hybrid models.
"This type of partnership is clearly a winning one because we are expanding access to different platforms, industrial tools, engineering and a distribution network," Cambolive said in the news conference.
"It does not rule out other deals with other manufacturers in other markets,” he said, adding that Chery is one of the automakers Renault is in contact with to explore similar partnerships, although no projects have been finalised.
Bloomberg News in October reported Renault's discussions with Chery to build cars in South America.
As part of the agreement in Brazil, Geely will have access to Renault's factory in Sao Jose dos Pinhais 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 for the Brazilian market.
Cambolive said the partnership aims to boost the factory's utilization rate. It is currently operating at around 50% of its 400,000-unit annual capacity.
Renault has carmaking factories in about a dozen countries, including France, Spain and India. It has also been producing and selling the Grand Koleos developed on Geely's platform in South Korea since 2024.
