Mercedes and China’s Geely to co-develop powertrains that could power Volvo cars as well
A Daimler press release states that the two companies will "work together on hybrid powertrain solutions to enhance their global competitiveness and create true economies of scale".
Daimler and Geely, parent companies of Mercedes-Benz and Volvo respectively, have announced a partnership to co-develop high-efficiency powertrains for next-gen hybrid vehicles for the latter.
The Daimler press release states that the two companies will “work together on hybrid powertrain solutions to enhance their global competitiveness and create true economies of scale.”
However, the collaboration between the two automotive joints could potentially span wider. That potential could mean incorporating engineering, sourcing, industrialisation, and efficiency measures, even though the main goal of the partnership is to transition to emission-free motoring.
The R&D networks of both carmakers will be utilised to this effort in order to create next-generation gasoline engines, which will be used for mainly hybrid applications. The new efficient powertrain will be produced in factories in Europe and China and could be seen in new Mercedes and Volvo vehicles in the future.
This builds on towards Daimler’s goal of CO2-neutrality by 2019, with a target of having a completely revamped Mercedes portfolio by 2030, with half of its passenger car sales to be plug-in hybrids or EVs.
Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG said “We are looking forward to the future; when, together with Volvo’s ICE unit and Geely, we will further extend our synergies in the field of highly efficient drivetrain systems in China and the world. At Mercedes-Benz, the newly established unit Mercedes-Benz Drive Systems will spearhead the project and create cost efficiencies.”
Rumours surrounding the Geely and Daimler partnership, or at least talks of it have been doing the rounds for a while now. We knew that the two companies have been working on next-generation smart-cars as well. Geely Chairman Li Shufu was reported back in May to be interested in deeper ties with the German firm, while earlier rumours went around regarding an alleged collaboration between the two companies in co-developing new combustion engines.
