(Yicai) June 4 -- Geely Auto Group, the Chinese manager of brands Lynk & Co and Proton, has secured a long-term supply of semiconductors from European chipmaker STMicroelectronics to bolster its electrification.

ST will provide Geely with silicon-carbide semiconductor products for the latter's mid-to-high-end battery EVs for several years, enhancing performance, charging speed, and driving range, the Swiss company announced in a press release today without disclosing the contract period.

The pair is deepening cooperation as they have already established a joint lab to foster innovation in automotive electronics and electrical architecture, advanced driver-assistance systems, and new energy vehicles. Geely has adopted ST’s third-generation SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor devices in its traction inverters, a crucial part of electric powertrains.

"China is the biggest NEV market worldwide and a leading innovator," said Henry Cao, executive vice president of sales and marketing in China at ST. "Our local competence centers and joint labs with our customers across the value chain of automotive allow ST to better support automotive innovation and transformation in China."

Hangzhou-headquartered Geely sold nearly 1.7 million vehicles last year, and 480,000 of them were EVs, surging by 48 percent from a year ago to make up 28 percent of the total.

This is not the European firm's first touchpoint with the Chinese market as ST and Xiamen-based Sanan Optoelectronics announced a year ago that they would form a joint venture to manufacture 200mm SiC devices in Chongqing to better serve the local market.

Besides other products, STMicroelectronics makes SiC devices for EVs, including onboard chargers, DC-DC converters, and battery management integrated circuits.

Editor: Emmi Laine