Geely cars are displayed at the Shanghai Auto Show in Shanghai on April 17, 2019. File photo: AFP

Taipei-based Foxconn and Hangzhou-based automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group said that they will join hands to provide contract manufacturing for automakers.

They will each hold 50 percent of a venture that will provide consulting services on electric vehicle (EV) technologies to automakers, the companies said in a statement.

It's the latest move by Foxconn, a major Apple Inc supplier, into autos after a tie-up with Chinese electric car startup Byton, and it comes amid reports that Apple is likely to launch a self-driving electric car by 2024.

For Geely, the partnership will allow it to share its first EV-focused platform, launched in September, with other automakers, according to people familiar with Geely's plan.

It was the second deal within a week announced by Geely, which said earlier that it will work with Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc to make electric vehicles.

Geely, which owns Volvo Cars and holds 9.7 percent of Daimler AG, is keen to improve the capacity utilization rate of its plants around China, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak to the media and declined to be identified.

Its main listed company, Geely Automobile, has the capacity to build more than 2 million vehicles a year but sold only some 1.32 million in 2020. 

Geely Automobile plans to issue shares on the Chinese mainland's STAR board this year.

Foxconn, whose official name is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, said in October 2020 that it aimed to provide components or services to 10 percent of the world's EVs by 2025-2027.

Reuters