Geely has taken the next step to further commit itself as the go-to business for making electric vehicles (EV). The company has announced plans to build an EV battery factory with an annual energy content of 42 GWh.
A report by Reuters state that a separate statement from the local government highlighted the total investment in the project by Geely’s technology arm will be 30 billion Yuan (USD4.6 billion). Geely’s technology group has previously invested in EV battery maker Farasis Energy.
Farasis Energy is no stranger to powering EVs, with Daimler/Mercedes-Benz recently taking a stake of around 3% during the battery company’s IPO in July 2020. The company also supplied batteries to Venturi Racing Formula E team for four years ending in 2020.
This is the second news in two days that a carmaker is building its own EV battery plant, as Volkswagen yesterday announced a systematic battery roadmap to include having six ‘gigafactories’ with a total energy content of 240 GWh by 2030.
In January, Geely announced a new venture with Foxconn to not only provide consulting services on car manufacturing, but also contract manufacturing, specifically building EVs using the highly-scalable Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform.
The first vehicle to ride on the company’s open-sourced SEA platform is the soon-to-be-launched Lynk & Co Zero Concept that targets over 700 kilometres of range and completes the century sprint in under four seconds.
Geely currently lists four fully electric models, highlighted by the Geometry portfolio. Meanwhile, there are 10 models with PHEV systems, consisting of the entire Lynk & Co line-up and newer models such as Emgrand EL sedan and Xing Yue coupe-crossover.
Last week, Mercedes-Benz and Geely are reported to be working together on an all-new Smart model in the form of an electric SUV.
China, already the world’s biggest car market, forecasts New Energy Vehicles such as EVs and PHEVs to contribute 20% of the country’s annual vehicle sales by 2025 as the government continues to push for vehicles with little or no emissions.
