Daimler, Geely mull China as production hub for hybrid powertrains

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Daimler AG and Geely Holding on Friday said China could emerge as a manufacturing and export hub for hybrid powertrains jointly developed for Volvo and Mercedes-Benz cars.

Earlier this week the German car maker said it will cooperate with China’s Geely [GEELY.UL] to build next-generation combustion engines for use in hybrid vehicles.

The engines will be produced in China as well as in Europe, and Geely and Daimler will cooperate in engineering, sourcing and production, the companies said in a joint press release.

“The export of the engine from China is considered to be an option,” the release further said.

Mercedes-Benz aims for more than half of its passenger car sales to be comprised of plug-in hybrids or purely electric vehicles by 2030.

An Conghui, President of Geely Holding Group, President and CEO of Geely Auto Group said: “This project reflects the need for economies of scale and targeted research and development investment in clean and highly efficient powertrains and hybrid drive systems and their applications.”

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Douglas Busvine)