Editor’s note: The following is a transcript of the accompanying video. ©2020 Thomson Reuters
Geely and its sister company Volvo are planning to merge, listing in Hong Kong and possibly Stockholm. It would give Volvo access to public markets after it dropped plans to list its stock years ago. Merging the two units comes as global carmakers pursue alliances. They’re joining forces in the push to switch to electric cars and autonomous vehicles. Shares in Geely jumped as much as 11.5% on Tuesday [11 February].
Geely’s parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group bought Volvo from Ford in 2010. The new company will have five brands and products ranging from affordable sedans to luxury sports cars. It’s not yet clear how much valuation would be added to Geely by injecting Volvo assets. Geely is currently a $16 billion Hong Kong-listed company.
Its sales started to surge from 2015 as its products began incorporating Volvo technology. It sold 1.36 million cars in 2019 and has a goal to sell 1.4 million [cars] this year. Volvo sold just over 700,000 cars last year.