Geely’s vice president: no idea about plan to buy stakes in Daimler

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Yang Xueliang, Vice President of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, said he knew nothing about the plan to buy Daimler's stake. His words are a response to the inquiry of a local media about the report that Daimler turned down Geely’s offer to buy stake.

Recently, foreign media said sources have it that Daimler has declined Geely’s advice to buy a stake of up to 5 percent via a discounted share replacement. The German automaker reportedly welcomes Geely to buy shares in the open market.

Geely was said to have interest in the access to Daimler’s electric vehicle battery technology and hope to set up a joint venture with Daimler in Wuhan. According to the report, a deal may come in the future weeks.

Actually, on April Fool’s Day of 2016, Yang said jokingly via his Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website, that “Acquire! Words today are all jokes!” as a response to a video that says Geely has become the second largest shareholder of Daimler. Later, Geely clarified the rumor.

But this time the report seems much more convincing. A Daimler spokesman said the company was very happy with its current shareholder structure, but still welcome new investors with a long-term interest in the German company.

Seven years ago, Geely Holdings acquires 100 percent of Volvo, whose China annual sales have exceeded 100,000 units. Earlier this year, Geely acquired stakes in Malaysian automaker Proton and its subsidiary Lotus. The annual delivery of Geely itself is expected to hit a record of 1.1 million units.

Currently, Daimler has a joint venture with BAIC Motor Corp, which is considered its most important partner in China. The investment of the Chinese state-owned enterprise in Daimler was also refused by the latter. Besides, Daimler also has a joint venture with BYD, named Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automobile.

As usual, the relationship between the two companies will spur a series of analysis and speculations. We will wait and see, and offer the latest news for you.