Geely expands its stake in Aston Martin. It starts small and ends with an electric Vantage made in China

There are many Chinese manufacturers that are coming to Europe, but Geely it is the one that is doing the most to conquer our market, to the point of wanting to become the Volkswagen Group of the 21st century.

The Asian company continues to expand its empire in the Old Continent and, in addition to having its own brands, it is taking over some historical European brands, either totally or partially. Aston Martin is one of them and Geely is already its third largest shareholder.

Geely already owns Volvo, Lotus and half of Smart

The Chinese giant Geely continues to gain relevance in Europe. After acquiring Volvo, Lotus, the British taxi company London Electric Vehicle Company (LEV), 10% of the Mercedes-Benz Group and 50% of Smart, 7.6% of Aston Martin was purchased at the end of 2022 .

Since then, the shares of Aston Martin Lagonda they have not stopped rising, also coinciding with the good results that the Formula 1 team is reaping. Geely must be very satisfied with all this and has decided to expand its participation in Aston Martin.

From having 7.6% of the British brand, it has come to have 17%, which makes it the third largest shareholder Gaydon’s firm. The second is Saudi Arabia, with 18% Aston Martin, and the first is Yew Tree Consortium, with 21%.

The operation has cost Geely €269 million, which has bought the shares of Aston Martin for 45% more than the value they had yesterday on the stock market. Since Geely has announced the expansion of its stake in Aston Martin, the shares of the British company they have not stopped rising and at the time of writing this article they are already worth 28.8% more than yesterday.

Eric LiChairman of Geely Holding Group, said: “Since the first acquisition of our minority stake we have worked collaboratively with Chief Executive Lawrence Stroll and his colleagues and now we look forward to exploring joint technology synergies and new growth opportunities to help this iconic brand automotive to reach its full potential.

For his part, Lawrence StrollAston Martin Chief Executive, said: “Geely can offer us a deep understanding of China’s key strategic growth market, as well as the opportunity to access its range of technologies. Geely shares Aston Martin’s vision and wants to be a shareholder. Most importantly, this transaction enables the creation of a long-term partnership with Geely, a relationship that I believe will bring very significant value to all of our shareholders over time.”

If the association between Geely and Aston Martin continues to grow, it would not be unreasonable for a model of the British brand to be manufactured in the future in China. Just look at the Lotus precedent.

When Geely bought Lotus in 2017, it was clear that the Chinese were not going to settle for the low production volume that the English firm had at that time (less than 2,000 cars a year).

A few years later, in 2021, Lotus announced that it will open a factory in China, specifically in Wuhanfrom which up to 150,000 electric cars a year may come out, including the new Lotus Eletre, a zero-emission SUV that before Geely would never have existed in Lotus’s plans.