Mercedes-Benz is planning to shift the majority of its four-cylinder petrol engine production to China in a move that will greatly expand its activities with Chinese car maker Geely.
The deal will mean the parent companies of Mercedes-Benz and Geely, Daimler and Geely Holdings, will assume much closer technical ties. The two companies plan to jointly develop and produce a new family of four-cylinder petrol engines to be used in future hybrid models from both companies at a factory in China from 2024, according to information obtained by Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper.
A spokesperson from Daimler is quoted as saying: “The company plans the development of a highly efficient modular engine suitable for use in next-generation hybrid models and production in Europe and China.”
Mercedes-Benz is yet to indicate how many engines it plans to produce in China, although the suggestions are that it will be in the “hundreds of thousands per year”.
Further details to the German-Sino co-operation remain under wraps, but Mercedes-Benz sources suggest the new four-cylinder would be used jointly by Mercedes-Benz and Geely as well as a number of Geely-owned brands, including Volvo, Lynk&Co, Proton and, possibly, Lotus.
The joint engine development and production programme follows the 50% buy out of Mercedes-Benz’s Smart city car division by Geely in 2018.
Future Smart models – including a new crossover to rival the likes of the Volkswagen T-Cross as well as a successor to today’s two-seat Fortwo city car – will also be jointly developed and produced by Mercedes-Benz and Geely in China.
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The "quiet" invasion of the West is well under way, resistance is becoming futile.
The Chinese have been accumulating Western consumer cash for years and are now using it to gain a controlling hold on foreign asssets. The irony is that the money markets of London, New York and others let this happen. Capitalists investing in manufacturing in a low wage, badly regulated communist economy enabled profits to be made off the backs of an opresssed workforce.
The West couldn't get enough of shiny new cars, computers and other gadgets, all banged up to the hilt with the latest Silicon Valley & Cambridge technology but sourced from the output of the down-trodden and therefore very cost effective & profitable.
I fully expect the likes of Daimler to be majority (if not wholly) Chinese owned by the end of the decade....
Again though - most of the customers of Mercedes just wont know and will simply see the the pointed star and monthly repayment costs being low so they can instagram pictures of #benzlife
This has done really well for Volvo reliability - pretty sure Which rated the the new XC 90 as one of the least reliable cars.. Again though - most of the customers of Mercedes just wont know and will simply see the the pointed star and monthly repayment costs being low so they can instagram pictures of hashtag benzlife