Automotive News Europe — 2026-09-16
Automotive Industry
Renault Group is ramping up its partnership with China’s Geely with a €319 million ($340 million) investment in Brazil, where the two automakers will launch a “highly electrified” locally-built Renault model based on Geely’s GEA platform in 2027.
The move comes as Chinese brands surge ahead of major established players in Brazil, the world’s sixth-largest automotive market in 2025 with sales of about 2.7 million. They held more than 28 percent of the market in August, a share that has doubled in a year.
The investment is the second major step in the Renault-Geely partnership in Brazil, which was forged in November 2025 when Geely took a 26.4 percent equity stake in Renault Brazil — renaming it Renault Geely Brazil and combining Renault’s industrial footprint in Brazil with Geely’s expertise in electrified vehicles.
Renault said that the latest agreement with Geely takes its total investment in Brazil in 2025-27 to €899 million.
The deal was announced on Sept. 15 at Renault’s Ayrton Senna Industrial Complex here in Curitiba, the automaker’s sole assembly plant in Brazil.
In addition to announcing the Renault car on the GEA platform, the companies confirmed that that production of the Geely EX2 small electric SUV — the bestselling vehicle in China in 2025 with more than 465,000 sales — will start in December at the Curitiba factory. Earlier in September the factory started building the EX5 DM-i plug-in hybrid.
The factory builds a range of Renault models for Brazil and other Latin America markets, and has a capacity of about 400,000 units annually in two facilities, one for light-commercial vehicles and one for passenger cars.
Production in 2025 was about 194,000, according to Renault Group. No target was given for the additional Geely models.
“We have a clear ambition to grow globally,” Renault Group CEO Francois Provost told a gathering of workers, executives from Renault and Geely, and Brazilian dignitaries. Brazil/Latin America is one of three “high potential” markets, along with India and South Korea, that Renault is counting on to deliver growth, with the European market largely stagnant and under siege from Chinese automakers.
Geely brings ability to develop cars at ‘China speed’
Geely’s expertise in electrified powertrains and ability to develop cars at “China speed” will benefit Renault in Brazil, executives said. The first joint model for Renault will come to market in about two years, with a second to follow.
Similarly, Brazil is key to Geely’s target of selling 1 million cars in export markets by 2030, up from about 650,000 last year. Renault, a familiar partner from collaborations in South Korea and on building combustion engines with Horse Powertrain, offers a ready-made sales network, a relatively new, large factory, and decades of knowledge about Brazil’s 3 million-a-year auto market.
“We are celebrating our confidence and commitment to this market,” said Geely Holding Group Senior VP Victor Yang, who said Geely was looking forward to developing a local supply chain and creating more jobs. “Brazil is a highly strategic market for Geely’s global ambitions,” he said.
Chinese turn to South America, with U.S. and European markets constrained by tariffs
South America, a region traditionally dominated by American and European automotive brands, has become an area of increasing focus for Chinese manufacturers as the U.S. and the European Union attempt to protect their domestic markets with import tariffs.
BYD ranked third in sales in August, behind perennial leaders Fiat and Volkswagen, figures from dealer’s association Fenabrave showed. Great Wall Motors was eighth and Geely was 11th, just behind Renault.
Six other Chinese automakers were in the top 21 bestsellers.
The new Chinese push into the Brazilian market began in 2023, when BYD and Great Wall Motor started importing electrified models at highly competitive prices.
Renault has emphasized partnerships under Provost, a former top Renault-Nissan Alliance executive and also head of partnerships at Renault Group. In addition to working with Geely, Renault has signed agreements with Qualcomm, Geely and Google for technology. It also recently agreed to produce EVs and potentially commercial vans for Ford in Europe.