The Chinese Geely is a very heard name in recent years. And it is not for less, the Chinese group Zhejiang Geely Holding already owns the LEVC brands (the London electric taxi brand), Lotus, Lynk&Co, Polestar, Volvo Cars, and half of Smart. Now, Geely acquires 7.6% of Aston Martin.
Geely’s billionaire boss Li Shufu has added Aston Martin Lagonda to his list of car brand holdings, helping raise the £654m the British firm said it needed earlier this year. Other shareholders such as Mercedes-Benz, the Yew Tree Consortium, and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund also contributed to the fundraising to save Aston Martin from bankruptcy.
Aston Martin said the money raised would be “used to significantly reduce balance sheet leverage, strengthen and accelerate long-term growth.” Daniel Donghui Li, CEO of Geely Holding Group, said of the deal: “We look forward to exploring potential opportunities to engage and collaborate with Aston Martin as it continues to execute its strategy for long-term sustainable growth and increased profitability. ”.
The brand will launch its first electric in 2025 thanks to the economic lung acquired
In addition to the deal, Chairman Lawrence Stroll’s Yew Tree Consortium increased its stake to 19 percent, and the Public Investment Fund grew to 18.7 percent. It is not known if Mercedes-Benz will change its percentage of investment, at the moment the brand already has an agreement by which it will supply engines that include internal combustion variants, hybrids, and even purely electric units until 2027.
It is not yet known how much Geely will be involved in Aston Martin’s decisions, and whether the Chinese company’s role could go beyond financial support. Supposedly, Geely wants to use Aston Martin’s technologies, especially in the new Lotus models. Perhaps for the first time in their history, two iconic British brands will join hands to face the difficulties of the electric transition.
In addition to paying off some of the debt, the money will serve to fund Aston Martin’s long-term goals. The brand is aiming to reach 10,000 vehicles sold by 2024, an achievable target given more than 6,000 units sold by 2021. In 2025 Aston Martin will launch its first electric car, but few details have been revealed so far. There is no confirmation, for example, of the possible involvement of Mercedes-Benz in the project, since the German company could share platforms and other components with the British.
The goal now is to make Aston Martin projects financially sustainable.
We do not know if it will involve changes in the brand, but the good work of the Chinese is palpable in the work done since they acquired Volvo from the Ford brand 11 years ago. Now that Geely acquires 7.6% of Aston Martin, it does not mean at all that the brand is going to change its spirit, rather the opposite, it will get oxygen to continue with its projects, but guiding them in some way to make them sustainable and economically profitable…
