Paris: Renault is looking for a partner to expand its business with internal combustion engines, including hybrid models. Details in this regard were provided by Luca de Meo, general director of the French Renault Group.

French conglomerate Renault CEO Luca de Meo announced on Tuesday that the automaker is seeking a partner to expand sales of cars with internal combustion engines and lower the cost of the technology, including hybrid models.

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After visiting a factory in South Korea that Renault has been working on in a joint venture with Geely since earlier this year, de Meo was asked about Renault's discussions with Geely Automobiles.

“To save money and reduce user costs, you need to expand into this type of sector or industry. This is a project that exists to advance the technology of our internal combustion engine vehicles. To accomplish this, For this, we need a partner, so we're doing it," de Meo told reporters in Seoul, as quoted by Reuters.

Renault and the French government are discussing how their strategy will change.
According to de Meo, Renault is in discussion with the French government about the development of its strategy.

It has nothing to do with authority. It is our regular interaction with one of our major shareholders on various topics, he added.

De Maio was in Japan over the weekend to hold talks with Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida that could change the terms of their alliance, according to people familiar with the discussions.

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Talks between Renault and Nissan about resetting their relationship
Nissan and Renault announced on Monday that they are in discussions about resuming their partnership. This could include getting Nissan to invest in a new electric vehicle (EV) company that Renault intends to separate from the parent company.

Separately, Geely, which owns Volvo Cars and holds a 9.7% stake in Daimler AG, has discussed with Renault the possibility of acquiring a larger and possibly controlling stake in the internal combustion engine business that Renault is aiming to develop. Used to be. The alleged close observer of the conversation.

Geely chose not to respond. Geely's plan to acquire a large part of Renault's petrol engine division, code-named Horse, is also expected to receive Nissan's approval if it includes technology made by Nissan.

Last year, Volvo and Geely formed a joint venture called Orobe to consolidate their respective internal combustion engine businesses into a single, stand-alone company.

Planning to build and develop hybrid vehicles

In May, Renault sold a 34 percent stake in its South Korean subsidiary to Geely, which is based around a factory in Busan. There plans to build and develop hybrid vehicles have been made public by two automakers. Renault's Korean division announced on Tuesday that it will spend the equivalent of $873 million over the next six years to develop an electric vehicle model.

De Meo's visit to South Korea is his first since the company joined forces with Geely, and it comes as Renault has an early November 1 deadline to report on the development of its electric vehicle division .

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Due to the size of the investment required to switch to battery-powered vehicles, De Meo claimed that Renault needed a new partnership.

In a bid to effectively isolate the high-growth and investment-intensive parts of its auto business, Renault is attempting to entice Nissan to invest in its new electric vehicle project, which it plans to develop as a vehicle for internal combustion engine vehicles. Installing with separate unit.

According to a person familiar with the conversation, Nissan wants Renault to cut its ownership of the Japanese automaker in exchange for investing in the electric vehicle project.