Asian Tech Press (Dec 21) -- According to Reuters, Geely and Renault are about to announce an Asian hybrid car joint venture focused on the Chinese and South Korean markets.

China's Geely Holdings and France's Renault may soon announce a deal to jointly produce Geely hybrid cars in South Korea and consider exporting the cars duty-free to the United States, three people familiar with the matter said.

The joint venture (JV) deal, which has been in the works since earlier this year, also involves a joint venture in China, thus helping Renault shore up its struggling business in South Korea and more broadly consolidate its presence in Asia.

Geely is expected to work with Renault on a new lineup of new energy vehicles using Geely's Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), a midsize car chassis structure shared by Geely and Volvo, as well as its supply chain and manufacturing facilities in China, the sources added.

Renault will focus on vehicle design, sales and marketing for its newly defined brand in China, the sources said.