BEIJING, July 22, 2013 /PRNewswire — Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (“Geely Group”) today announced that it has signed an agreement to establish a joint venture agreement on the establishment of a large automobile assembly project with the Belarusian government, marking the implementation of the first automotive joint venture between China and Belarus.
According to the terms of the agreement, Geely Group, along with BELAZ, the world’s second-largest mining machinery company, and SOYUZ, a large-parts production joint venture, will form the closed joint stock company BELGEE. The new venture, with a planned annual production capacity of 120,000 units, will produce Geely automobiles in Belarus, starting with the SUV-EX7, the Geely SC7, SC5 and the LC-CROSS.
The Geely SC7 has been available in Belarus since March this year, and the SUV-EX7 is expected to be available by the end of 2013. The project’s production capacity and product line will subsequently be expanded to allow it to supply Russia, Ukraine and the wider CIS[1] market.
Geely Auto has undergone rapid overseas expansion in recent years, and exports to overseas markets are expected to continue to increase. It is now the fastest-growing automobile exporter in China, with sales to the Russian and Ukrainian markets particularly strong. Between January and June this year, Geely Auto recorded sales of 14,886 and 6,739 units in Russia and Ukraine respectively, giving it the largest presence of any Chinese automobile brand in those markets. The Geely-Belarus joint venture agreement will both promote the development of the Belarusian automobile industry and provide Geely with a platform from which to expand its presence in the CIS market, representing an important step in the company’s overseas ambitions.
| [1] The CIS, or Commonwealth of Independent States, includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as participating members Turkmenistan and Ukraine. |