Renault Samsung Motors said it planned to collaborate with Chinese vehicle manufacturer Lynk & Co to develop a new hybrid passenger vehicle for sale in South Korea, according to local reports.
That followed a joint announcement earlier from Renault, and Lynk & Co parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, both had signed a preliminary agreement to collaborate on hybrid vehicle production.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The two companies agreed to share resource and technology to produce Renault-brand hybrid vehicles for Asian markets.
That agreement came a year after the French automaker quit a loss making joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group in Wuhan due to poor sales.
Wuhan was the epicentre of the initial COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, which subsequently spread across the globe, and was the first city to endure strict lockdowns.
Renault sold its 50% stake in the joint venture to its partner to Dongfeng Motor in April 2020, saying it wanted to focus on light commercial vehicles and electric vehicles.
Collaboration with Lynk & Co should help lift Renault Samsung’s flagging performance in its home market – it has been helped out by a recent export deal to build the Arkana for Renault, after the earlier Nissan Rogue supply deal ended some time ago following a model redesign.
The company reported a 45% drop in domestic sales to 33,778 units in the first seven months of 2021, with volume coming under rising pressure from Hyundai and Kia as well as from imports.
