While the Geely Group is one of the largest single shareholders in Mercedes-Benz, technical collaborations between the brands have been minimal. That could be about to change reports indicate the German carmaker is tapping Geely technology and architecture to develop its new global EV platform.
Chinese website 36Kr cited sources that Mercedes-Benz will shift development of its new EV platform to China. The platform, codenamed Phoenix, will be based on Geely’s Geely Electronic & Electrical Architecture (GEEA) 4.0.
However, the carmaker has come out to refute the claims by 36Kr, sharing in a statement on Friday that “the described cooperation was fabricated and untrue.”
This will see the Mercedes-Benz China R&D centre become the global hub for compact vehicle development and will see Phoenix as the first project for Mercedes-Benz China under the new direction.’
Mercedes-Benz has generally kept a tight lid on its tech and secrets, but this move will be the first time the 130-year-old luxury automaker grant development lead for a new platform to an R&D team outside its native Germany.
The report goes on to cite that Phoenix will underpin global compact models such as the A-, B- and CLA-Class as it enters mass production by 2030.
There are no prizes for guessing the reasoning behind this drastic move, reducing costs. The report adds that internal evaluations and vehicle teardown data by Mercedes-Benz indicate that Geely’s vehicle architecture is capable of many significant advantages in keeping costs low.
Mercedes-Benz has been placed under tremendous pressure in China by domestic premium marques. Last year, the carmaker recorded approximately 550,000 units sold, a drastic 19% drop from 2024.
Furthermore, preliminary supply chain data indicated the carmaker’s projected annual volume for locally assembled vehicles models in 2026 fell below 500,000, figures that it had a decade ago.
The move is not entirely out of the blue as the automotive landscape undergoes a massive shift that sees European carmakers partnering with Chinese brands to leverage China’s rapid EV development and supply chain. Volkswagen has just partnered with Xpeng while Stellantis has invested in Leapmotor.
The Sun Malaysia
