Last Updated on October 8, 2022 by Victor A
It is no secret that the automotive industry is in a state of flux. Traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are being displaced by electrified vehicles, and Chinese companies are leading the charge.
Geely Holding, the largest private automotive technology group in China, is at the forefront of this shift by acquiring stakes in automotive companies. This 7.6% stake acquisition reaffirms this points.
Geely Holding owns brands like Volvo, Polestar, Lynk&Co, Zeekr, LEVC, and Lotus. They also own a 9.69% stake in Daimler, and a 50% stake in Smart.
This purchase is good news for the British automaker as it gives them liquidity to continue expanding their portfolio and enter the next electrification era.
It opens up opportunities to improve the electrification of Aston Martin’s line-up by sharing EVs and lightweight technology from brands like Lotus and Polestar.
The British automaker is readying to launch its first electric car in 2025 and has an agreement with Mercedes for the supply of electric drivetrains.
Note that Aston Martin has been successfully receiving powertrains and infotainment from the German automaker. And the DBX has proven to be a sales success.
The question now is, would Geely become another supplier?
As of now, Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll continues to be the largest stakeholder as he owns 18.3% of the company, while Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns 16.7 %, and Mercedes-Benz (Daimler) a 9.7%.
This is not the first time Geely tries to invest in Aston Martin, as in late 2019, the British company needed a bailout, and two offers were pitched, one by Lawrence Stroll and another one by Geely Holding.
Both offers were different, Geely wanted to fasten EV adoption and globalize the brand, while Lawrence Stroll wanted to use the brand’s pedigree to even further their luxurious position by re-entering Formula 1 and focusing on mid-engined supercars. Stroll’s offer was accepted.
But Geely didn’t want to give up, back in July 2022, Geely Holding tried to buy an even larger stake of Aston Martin Lagonda, as they teamed up with Investindustrial, an Italian buyout group to acquire a controlling stake of Aston Martin for £1.3bn, which was rejected by Aston Martin.
In our opinion, this is great news as it allows them to combine both the visions of Stroll and Geely since it’s clear that Aston cannot survive by just building mid-engined supercars, and becoming a mass-producer of electric vehicles would greatly devalue the brand. Combining both visions may prove to be the most successful path.
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