Geely has doubled its stake in legendary British brand Aston Martin.
The Chinese carmaker now owns 17 per cent of Aston Martin, having purchased around 42 million ordinary shares from chairman Lawrence Stroll’s investment group, Yew Tree.
Yew Tree remains the number one stakeholder, followed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
The latest investment from Geely, worth around £234 million (A$438 million), makes it the third-largest shareholder in Aston Martin.
Aston Martin is gearing up to significantly overhaul its product range over the coming years, starting with a replacement for the DB11.
As previously reported, Aston Martin will launch eight new front-engine sports cars over the next two years.
“It feels like watching paint dry or grass grow, but after three years we’ve got our next generation of sports cars and will launch eight in the next 24 months,” said Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll at the Financial Times’ Future of the Car summit, in remarks reported by Autocar.
Mr Stroll in a statement described the extra investment from Geely as a “further significant step towards delivering our ambition for Aston Martin”.
“Geely can offer us a deep understanding of the key strategic growth market of China as well as the opportunity to access their range of technologies,” the statement continued.
Geely has one of the most diverse brand portfolios in motoring. Along with young names like Zeekr or Lynk and Co, it owns Polestar, Volvo, and British sports car specialist Lotus.
