ready to accelerate
Geely owns several brands including Volvo and – through a joint venture with Volvo – Polestar Zecker, another of the group’s brands, filed for a US initial public offering last month.
As such, Geely faces a complication that big EV makers BYD and Tesla have avoided.
Allen said LEVC is exploring a range of commercial and passenger car models on a common electric platform. It may rely on other Group brands that already have EVs to “move forward in a faster, agile way”.
Allen said the company already uses an infotainment system and software developed by Volvo and a steering wheel from the Swedish carmaker, helping to cut costs.
“There’s nothing we can’t deliver in a very short amount of time, but it’s just a question of timing,” he said, adding LEVC could easily have a full range of EVs on the road within five years. Can
“But in two years’ time, is the industry going to be ready, is the charging infrastructure going to be there, is the consumer confidence going to be there?”
LEVC currently has the capacity to manufacture 3,000 taxis on a single shift at its Coventry factory. Allen said that could easily be scaled up to 20,000 and that there was room for expansion of the plant. Allen said it may also rely on production in China, like Lotus. A major car plant produces an average of about 300,000 vehicles per year.
“There’s an enormous amount of value in our product that’s never really been maximized,” Allen said. “It’s about developing LEVC into a more recognizable brand globally and expanding our product offering to as many locations as possible.”