In a recent Automotive News article (subscription required) Volvo’s CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, discusses Volvo opportunities driven by the disruption occurring in the global automotive industry. He describes Volvo’s product efforts with electric vehicles as well as efforts with autonomous vehicle development. What is less known about Volvo, however, is that it is owned by Chinese billionaire, Li Shufu, through his Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Last year, Forbes called Li Shufu, China’s Elon Musk. While Alphabet and Tesla make all of the headlines, Geely is making major investment commitments in the areas of electrification and autonomous vehicle development as well. Volvo will soon offer an all-electric vehicle designed to take-on Tesla’s Model 3 through its Polestar sub-brand. Geely owns the company that makes the London black taxis. Geely is retrofitting the taxis with plug-in hybrid powertrains and has plans to disrupt urban transportation. Geely also launched a ride hailing service in China called Cao Cao. Additionally, Geely formed a new automotive brand, Lynk & Co, which is attempting “meet the needs… of a new generation of globally connected consumers” according to the Lynk & Co website. Lynk & Co vehicles will be ordered online versus being acquired through traditional automotive dealerships. Geely also has a 51% stake in Lotus which supports Geely ‘s plans to move upmarket to better compete with global luxury brands. And investors were caught by surprise last year when Daimler announced that Li Shufu had acquired a 9.7% stake in the company, making Li Shufu the largest single shareholder in Daimler.
Volvo, Geely and Li Shufu are Attacking the Future
