The Geely Holding Group, which owns Volvo, Lotus, and Polestar, as well as 50% of smart and a minority stake in Aston Martin and a joint venture with Renault, will not build car assembly plants in Europe and the USA.
The confirmation was made by the president of the Chinese group, Li Shufu, who believes that the advancement of globalization in the automotive industry is stagnating and the world is facing a surplus of factories.
Thus, the Geely Group will focus on improving coordination with Volvo and other partners, including Renault and several other brands, in the USA and Europe.
Geely and other brands are currently facing increasing competition in China from traditional car manufacturers and startups like Xiaomi. Furthermore, BYD has launched a strong price war that has triggered a recent increase in sales, but also a reduction in profits across the sector, as other brands have been forced to lower the prices of their models as well.
In addition, Li Shufu’s comments come at a time when the global economy is affected by a trade “war” between the USA and China, which has effectively excluded the Chinese automotive sector from the American market due to high tariffs on electric vehicles.
