Li Shufu, chairman of Geely, invested $9 billion in Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, becoming the largest shareholder.

[Observer Network Comprehensive Report] According to foreign media reports such as Bloomberg on February 23, a few days ago, Li Shufu, chairman of Geely, acquired 9.69% shares of Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, and became its largest shareholder.

Bloomberg webpage screenshot

The British "Financial Times" said that the German automaker disclosed this situation in a regulatory filing late on Friday. At present, Geely already owns Volvo Cars and Lotus. British media said that this acquisition "shows the latest sign of the global ambition of this China enterprise".

The Financial Times also quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that after this disclosure, Li Shufu, chairman of Geely, will go to Germany to start negotiations with Daimler. Li Shufu hopes to make Geely a China version of Volkswagen, with brands in all market segments. The move marks the China carmaker’s further entry into Europe, and Geely also hopes to open the European market independently with its all-electric car brand Lynk & Co next year.

For this acquisition, Daimler said, "We welcome entrepreneur Li Shufu to become a long-term shareholder."

Li Shufu, Chairman of Geely

According to another person familiar with the matter, Geely is eager to reach an agreement with Daimler on sharing battery technology in response to China’s strict emission regulations, which will take effect next year.

In the research and development of pure electric vehicle technology, Daimler is considered as one of the leading leaders in the automotive industry. Its ambitious plan is to release 10 different all-electric vehicles by 2022 and invest more than 10 billion euros in this technology.

At present, Daimler has established a joint venture with BYD, a China car company, to manufacture electric vehicles.

According to the Financial Times, many China car companies are ambitious in the field of electric vehicles. Apart from Geely and BYD, BMW said on Friday that it is in further negotiations with Great Wall Motor to manufacture a pure electric MINI model in China. Ford Motor Company of the United States is planning to cooperate with Anhui Zotye to launch a series of electric vehicles under a new brand.

In addition to owning Volvo and Lotus, Geely also acquired a 49% stake in troubled Malaysian car company Proton last year, and owned London Electric Car Company, a black taxi manufacturer. In November last year, Geely acquired Terrafugia, a flying car company.

According to DPA, in the past few years, China, as an important market of Daimler, has made many contributions to the sales performance of the company. Although in China, Daimler initially lagged behind the other two German luxury car brands BMW and Audi in the competition, by vigorously expanding the sales network, Daimler’s sales in China are growing rapidly, and China has become Daimler’s most important market.

Recently, the German stock market was in a downturn. After the announcement of Geely’s shareholding, Daimler’s share price rose by 1.4% after hours.