(Yicai Global) March 23 -- Chinese auto giant Geely Automobile Holdings and its parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group have formed a joint venture to produce electric mobility products including Zeekr-branded electric cars. 

Geely Auto will hold 51 percent of the JV with its parent holding the rest, and the new firm is expected to have capital of CNY2 billion (USD307.2 million) from the two. Geely Holding Group Chairman Li Shufu and Geely Auto CEO An Conghui are set to perform the same roles in the JV.

The new company will further develop Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), which is now used in 16 of the auto firm’s models, Geely Auto announced via its official account on WeChat.

Geely said in the announcement that it aims to speed up its transformation from a conventional carmaker to an intelligent electric auto firm. The Zhejiang-based company has recently signed deals with Foxconn and Baidu in its tech push, as well as setting up a new electric car battery firm.

The company also released its 2020 annual report on Tuesday, revealing that revenue dropped by five percent on the year to CNY92.1 billion, with net profit attributable to equity holders down 32 percent to CNY5.5 billion, as the pandemic hampered sales.

The group sold 1.32 million vehicles in 2020, down 3 percent from 2019, but it still ranked first among China’s passenger vehicle brands for the fourth consecutive year.

Geely Auto spent as much as CNY3.7 billion (USD568 million) on development last year, an annual gain of 22 percent.

The firm aims to sell 1.53 million vehicles in 2021, up 16 percent from 2020, though it didn't provide a forecast for revenue and profit.

Shares in Geely Automobile Holdings [HKG:0175] closed down 6.6 percent at HKD22.6 (USD2.9) each.

Editor: Tom Litting