GEELY Automotive Holdings (GAH) has grand ambitions to become both China’s top-selling carmaker and the top-selling Chinese manufacturer in Australia. Now the company says it is preparing to expand its platform-sharing business.

A project sponsored by Geely chairman Li Shufu, Geely plans to supplement its internal carmaking business line by expanding its collaborative relationships with external partners beyond its current signature deals with Renault and Mercedes-Benz.

With those stakeholders reportedly satisfied with the Geely “deep collaboration” process, the Chinese brand’s interest in doing business with other carmakers is already generating results, according to a key executive.

Geely Horse Powertrain

“Other brands, right now, are approaching Geely (which) we will launch later because it is still in a confidential process,” Geely Auto International vice president Alex Gu told GoAutoNews Premium.

Geely is confident that its array of vehicle platforms and powertrains, which support varying degrees of electrification, will prove popular with legacy rivals as turn-key solutions to complying with increasingly stringent emissions regulations in Europe, Australia and other markets.

Alex Gu (Xia’en Gu)

The launch of Geely’s Horse Powertrain joint venture with Renault and Saudi Aramco in 2023 is yielding a growing range of slot-in engines available for use by Geely and external brands alike, from compact range-extender units to a new hybrid twin-turbo V6 unveiled at last month’s Beijing Motor Show.Quick access to Geely-Horse engines is aiding carmakers that had planned for an earlier transition to full electrification, including Mercedes-Benz, which has supplemented BEV versions of its new-generation CLA and GLB models with hybrid models powered by a Geely-Horse 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine

Leapmotor, Chery and JAC are understood to be tapping into Horse Powertrain’s family of combustion engines for future hybrid models.

Grand Koleos

Now, Geely is planning to scale up its collaboration business from powertrains to full platforms in earnest. It’s an experiment the company says it successfully tested earlier this year with Renault, which borrowed Geely’s CMA platform for the underpinnings of the French brand’s Korean-made Grand Koleos model.

Renault’s access to Geely platforms and cars will now expand to include production of hybrids and EVs in South America, with Geely acquiring a minority stake in the Renault do Brasil operation.

“Geely’s cooperation with Renault is part of its commitment to working with global partners in transforming and improving the industry in a sustainable direction,” said global chief Mr Li.

Geely Horse Powertrain

Pooling of vehicle platforms and engines to save on development dollars, especially in strained economic times, is nothing new for the car industry.

What is much more novel is the driving influence behind Geely’s pivot to platform-sharing. Simply put, the Chinese brand says many of its Western rivals are woefully underprepared for the CO2 penalty regimes now ratcheting up across key markets including Europe and Australia.

“I know some processes for those legacy brands. Either they spend a huge investment and a long time to develop their New Energy platforms, or they find a brand like Geely for co-operation,” explained Geely vice president Mr Gu.

“If I’m the owner of a legacy brand, I think the second way is more efficient.”

Geely Starray EM-i with Horse Powertrain

With negotiations currently taking place between Geely and other brands in the spirit of the Renault and Mercedes-Benz deals, it would appear the Hangzhou-based group is on the march.

Geely has repeatedly been linked to talks with US giant Ford throughout the year, with Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reporting the two conglomerates have discussed the use of spare manufacturing capacity and potential technology tie-ups.

While Ford has denied it is in talks to collaborate with Geely, Mr Gu said that Geely’s door was “of course” open to the American manufacturer.