Asian Tech Press -- Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd, known as Geely, China's largest private auto group, announced Monday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 120-year-old French automaker Renault Group to explore the development of hybrid vehicles.

Geely and Renault will establish an innovative partnership to share resources and technologies in hybrid vehicles, targeting the booming hybrid market in Asia, with a focus on China and South Korea as key markets for cooperation.

The partnership will reflect Geely's strategy of opening up its vehicle architecture and will accelerate Renault's "Renaulution" strategic plan in these two markets.

In the announcement, Geely said that it has a mature industrial layout and powerful technologies. Both parties will jointly develop Renault-branded hybrid cars based on Geely's advanced platform technology.

At the same time, Renault will leverage its strengths in brand strategy, content and channels, eco-services development and optimization of the user journey to create value for consumers.

In the Korean market, Renault's joint venture Renault Samsung Motors has a successful development experience spanning more than 20 years. Renault Group and Geely Holdings will work together to develop models for the Korean market based on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) fuel-efficient platform used by Geely's Lynk & Co-brand hybrid vehicles.

On the same day, Geely' listed subsidiary Geely Auto (0175.HK) made an announcement on Hong Kong Stock Exchange, clarifying that it is not a party to the proposed deal and has not cooperated with or provided financing to Geely in connection with it.