By Edward Taylor and Yilei Sun
FRANKFURT/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Beijing Automotive Group Co Ltd (BAIC) has bought a 5% stake in Daimler, cementing their long-standing alliance after China’s Geely emerged as a potential rival by also taking a stake in the German automaker.
BAIC has been Daimler’s main partner in China for years, operating Mercedes-Benz factories in Beijing through Beijing Benz Automotive.
But last year Li Shufu, the chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding, bought a 9.69% stake in the German company with the aim of forging an alliance to develop electric and self-driving cars.