Geely Chairman Li Shufu invested $9 billion in Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler and became the largest shareholder

According to Bloomberg and other foreign media reports on February 23, Geely Chairman Li Shufu recently acquired 9.69% of Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler for approximately US$9 billion, becoming its largest shareholder.

The Financial Times said the German automaker disclosed the move in a regulatory filing late Friday. Geely already owns Volvo Cars and Lotus. British media said the acquisition was "the latest sign of the Chinese company's global ambitions."

The Financial Times also cited people familiar with the matter as saying that after making this disclosure, Geely Chairman Li Shufu will go to Germany to start negotiations with Daimler. Li Shufu hopes to build Geely into the Chinese version of Volkswagen, with brands in various market segments. This move marks the Chinese automaker's further entry into Europe, and Geely also hopes to open up the European market independently next year with its all-electric car brand Lynk & Co.

Regarding this acquisition, Daimler said, "We welcome entrepreneur Li Shufu to become a long-term shareholder."

Another person familiar with the matter said Geely is eager to reach an agreement with Daimler on sharing battery technology in response to China's strict emissions rules that take effect next year.

Daimler is considered one of the automotive industry's leading developers of pure electric vehicle technology, with an ambitious plan to release 10 different all-electric vehicles by 2022 and invest more than 10 billion euros in the technology.

Daimler currently has a joint venture with Chinese automaker BYD to manufacture electric vehicles.

According to the Financial Times, many Chinese automakers are ambitious in the field of electric vehicles. In addition to Geely and BYD, BMW said on Friday that it is in further negotiations with Great Wall Motors to manufacture a pure electric MINI model in China. Ford Motor of the United States is planning to cooperate with Anhui Zotye to launch a series of electric vehicles under a new brand.

In addition to its Volvo and Lotus brands, Geely last year bought a 49 percent stake in troubled Malaysian automaker Proton and owns black cab maker London Electric Vehicle Co. In November, Geely bought flying car company Terrafugia.

According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, China, as an important market for Daimler, has made a lot of contributions to the company's sales performance in the past few years. Although Daimler initially lagged behind the other two German luxury car brands, BMW and Audi, in China, through the vigorous expansion of its sales network, Daimler's sales in China are growing rapidly, and China has become Daimler's most important market.

The German stock market has been sluggish recently. After the news of Geely's investment was announced, Daimler's stock price rose 1.4% after the market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.