Volvo and Geely deepen electric car partnership

German automotive giant Volvo Cars and Chinese automaker Geely Auto have signed a new agreement intended to expand on their existing partnership, specifically focusing on electric vehicle development.

The news comes at the same time as the two companies revealed they would not proceed with a merger, which would have consolidated the two, building on Geely’s purchase of Volvo back in 2010.

Volvo and Geely, maintaining their separate corporate structures, will nevertheless now cooperate more closely in an effort to deliver “synergies in powertrains”, with the two companies planning to share electric vehicle architecture, joint procurement, autonomous drive technologies, and aftersales.

The two companies will nevertheless combine their powertrain operations in a new company which will focus on next-generation hybrid systems and internal combustion engines.

Expected to become operational this year, the new powertrain company will provide internal combustion engines, transmissions, and next-generation dual-motor hybrid systems for use by both companies as well as other automobile manufacturers.

Separate to the formation of a new powertrain company, Volvo and Geely will collaborate on the development and sourcing of next-generation technologies including connectivity and autonomous driving, car sharing and electrification.

Volvo and Geely will share and jointly source batteries, electric motors, and connectivity solutions and jointly develop a world-leading autonomous driving solution under the lead of Zenseact, Volvo Cars AD software development company.

Already planning to share the new SEA and SPA2 electric architectures between their car brands, the two companies will also combine to drive speed and efficiencies in the development of EV hardware and software.