‎Aramco close to car engine deal with Renault, Geely: Reports

‎Aramco close to car engine deal with Renault, Geely: Reports

Saudi Aramco is close to acquiring a stake in Renault SA and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.’s planned combustion-engine venture, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

If the deal is closed, the Saudi oil giant will take a minority stake, with Renault and China’s Geely planning to maintain an equal interest, Asharq Business reported. While a non-binding agreement could be announced as soon as this week, the deal is still uncertain.

In January, media reports said that Renault SA and Geely are finalizing a deal to bring Saudi Aramco in as an investor and partner to develop and supply gasoline engines and hybrid technologies, Argaam earlier reported.

The world’s largest oil exporter was in advanced discussions to take a stake of up to 20% in a previously announced but still-unnamed Geely-Renault powertrain technology company that the automakers are working to establish, the three people told Reuters.

The new joint venture is aimed at developing more-efficient gasoline engines and hybrid systems at a time when the focus of much of the automobile industry has been on the capital-intensive transition to purely electric vehicles.