Volvo Cars, Geely Holdings to set up Aurobay, JV for powertrain operations

Volvo Cars and its parent company Geely Holding have announced that they have agreed to create a joint venture under the name Aurobay for its powertrain operations, as the companies continue with their earlier announced plans to amalgamate these into a new standalone business.

As per the media release, the new company will be a global supplier of complete powertrain solutions including next-generation combustion engines, transmissions, and hybrid solutions.

Aurobay will primarily be mutually owned by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding and as part of the creation of Aurobay, Volvo Cars will transfer all assets in its wholly-owned subsidiary Powertrain Engineering Sweden, comprising its Skövde, Sweden-based engine plant as well as the related R&D team, along with its engine plant in China and other relevant assets to the joint venture in coming months.

As per the automaker, the creation of the stand-alone joint venture and the transfer of assets allows Volvo Cars to focus fully on the development of its new range of all-electric premium cars in the coming years. The company aims for 50 percent of its global sales volume to consist of fully electric cars by 2025 while 50 percent will be hybrids, with powertrains supplied by Aurobay. By 2030, it plans every car it sells to be pure electric.

"For Geely Holding, the new entity will benefit from the addition of a strong R&D team and technologically advanced and efficient combustion engines and hybrid powertrains for its portfolio of brands, creating a strong base for substantial operational, industrial and financial synergies," said the company statement.

"The new stand-alone business also has the ambition to supply customers outside of the Geely Holding Group, and aims to be a leading player in the supply of high-quality, low emission, cost-efficient powertrains solutions," Volvo Cars added