Mercedes-Benz Partners with Geely for New Electric Car Platform, Targeting Global Market from China

Mercedes-Benz has begun developing a new platform for electric vehicles in China, using Geely's electric architecture. This was reported by the Chinese site 36Kr citing its own sources.

For the first time, Mercedes-Benz has granted the right to independently develop a new automotive platform to a research center outside Germany. The Chinese Research and Development Center will become the global headquarters for creating compact cars, while the German center will focus on medium and large models.

According to 36Kr sources, the company has launched a new platform project codenamed Phoenix. It is intended for initial electric models that will be sold worldwide. Production is planned to begin around 2030.

The new architecture will be based on Geely's GEEA electric system, which is to replace the current MMA platform. Phoenix is planned to be the basis for compact models, including A-Class, B-Class, GLA, GLB, and CLA for global markets.

According to sources close to Mercedes-Benz, the company has been actively studying cost-reduction methods in the Chinese automotive industry over the past 1-2 years. Cost-cutting has become one of the key factors in making this decision.

Mercedes-Benz engineers also studied Chinese cars. After a detailed analysis of the Zeekr 001 model, specialists noted the high technical quality of the vehicle at a significantly lower cost compared to Mercedes models.

Source: 36Kr