Amsia's JV Partner Brilliance Auto & Renault form light commercial vehicle venture!
BEIJING (Reuters) - Renault and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd have formed a joint venture to design and manufacture light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in China, with an aim to sell 150,000 such vehicles a year by 2022, the two firms reported.
The venture, Renault-Brilliance-Jinbei Automotive Co, will have manufacturing operations in Shenyang, the provincial capital of Liaoning, they said in a joint statement.
It plans to produce and sell multi-purpose vans and commercial vans under the Jinbei, Renault and Huasong brands.
The move comes as demand in China for LCVs is expected to rise significantly, especially for electric commercial vans, which Beijing is encouraging in its polluted and congested city centers, in addition to electric cars.
Renault and Brilliance said their goal is to “achieve… an acceleration of electrifying power trains” as part of the partnership, without further elaboration.
Ford Motor Co is overhauling its China plans in order to reinvigorate its business in the world’s biggest auto market which has struggled to grow this year.
As part of that review, Ford will likely focus on electric commercial vans – a shift that fits well with the company’s reckoning that a best play globally for electrification and autonomous driving might be in commercial and delivery vehicles.
To form the new LCV JV, Renault is purchasing a 49 percent equity interest in Shenyang Brilliance Jinbei Automobile Co (SBJ), Brilliance’s existing LCV unit, they said.
SBJ is being restructured into a JV owned 51 percent by Brilliance China and 49 percent by Renault.
The companies had signed a framework cooperation agreement to pursue the formation of the JV in July.
As per media. groupe. renault - “Groupe Renault has been investing and expanding in China for four years now with joint ventures focused on passenger cars, commercial vehicles and electric vehicles. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance gives us access to a wide array of technologies, with more than 50 billion euros in R&D investment over the next six years, part of which will enable Renault-Brilliance-Jinbei Automotive Company to develop products tailored to the Chinese market. We see China not only as the biggest car market worldwide, but also as a trend setter for the auto industry.” said Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Groupe Renault.
“Brilliance and Groupe Renault are joining hands to build a world-class model for the development of LCVs. It will change the map of the Chinese and even global LCV market. Both companies will build the joint venture into a world-renowned leader in three areas— commercial vehicles, new energy commercial vehicles and customized commercial vehicles. This win-win partnership will create huge economic and social benefits, accelerating the development of automotive industry in Liaoning Province and China,” said Qi Yumin, Chairman of Brilliance Automotive Group Holdings Company Limited.
Credit Source; www.reuters.com media.groupe.renault
