Aramco and Geely negotiate with Renault to take over 60% of its combustion car business | companies

French car manufacturer Renault is in talks with the Chinese carmaker Geely and the Saudi oil company Aramco to sell most of its combustion vehicle business to them. Specifically, according to the French media Le Monde and the Reuters agency, Aramco would take 20% of the thermal engine business and Geely would keep 40%. The remaining 40% would remain in the hands of Renault, which, although it would continue to be a major shareholder, would not have a majority shareholding.

The French car company had already reported its intention to divide its combustion and electric car business into two different entities in order to have more capital with which to face the challenge of its electrification, a process that is not cheap. As indicated Le MondeAramco (worth more than 2.18 billion euros), the world’s most valuable company along with Apple, would work with Renault to manufacture synthetic fuels and products for the “post-oil” era.

Geely, meanwhile, recently acquired 34% of the South Korean subsidiary of Renault. The Chinese car company, in turn, owns the Swedish brand Volvo, through which it has created the 100% electric firm Polestar.

In May, it was revealed that Renault had opened a consultation period with union representatives about the group’s plans to create two different entities. Luca de MeoCEO of the French group, assured then that “all possibilities are open”, including the hypothesis that the electrical branch would go public. The company estimates that the separation will take place in mid-2023.

Renault’s goal in Europe is only to sell electric vehicles by the end of this decade, which, for now, are mainly assembled in France. In Spain, the company still has no plans to manufacture electric cars until it has finished securing future employment at its French plants. Today, the Valladolid and Palencia factories only assemble combustion and hybrid cars.