Geely is scouting locations for Europe plant amid EU-China tariffs dispute

FRANKFURT -- Chinese automaker Geely is scouting locations for a plant in Europe but has not committed fully to building up production in the region, company executives said.

"It is not 100 percent yet," Li Chuanhai, vice president of Geely Auto Group, one of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group's brands, said when asked whether the carmaker would build a plant in the region.

Talks are ongoing between Geely and Poland's new government over a joint electric vehicle plant in the country, but officials told Reuters earlier this year they did not view Geely as an ideal partner.

"We have a lot of possibilities," Li said on Sept. 11 when asked about the talks, declining to give further details.

Geely is China's second-largest automaker by sales, eclipsed only by BYD last year. It owns Volvo Cars, has a joint venture with Renault and holds stakes in Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz.

The company on Sept. 11 dedicated a base in Frankfurt where it plans to test 13 so-called 'new energy vehicles,' a term in the Chinese car market for hybrids, battery-electric cars and hydrogen cars, to assess their performance and compliance with European certification standards.

Geely joins a growing number of Chinese carmakers including Chery and Great Wall Motor making plans to set up local plants in Europe as the European Commission plans stricter trade barriers for EV imports from China, including tariffs of up to 35.3 percent over which negotiations with Beijing are ongoing.

Nicolas Appelgren, Europe CEO for Geely's Lynk & Co brand, said Geely was scouting for locations across the region.

Lynk & Co, which currently only sells one hybrid model in Europe, will launch a China-made battery-electric car in Italy in October but plans to build its next battery-electric car in Europe, Appelgren said, adding there was no specific timeline yet.