Horse Powertrain: Proving Combustion Engines Still Matter on the Path to Net Zero
In an automotive industry obsessed with electrification, one company is making a bold and increasingly well-supported argument: internal combustion engines (ICE) are not dead. In fact, they need to be better than ever. That company is Horse Powertrain, a joint venture born from the combined ambitions of two automotive giants — Renault Group and Geely — and it is reshaping the conversation around what a truly balanced transition to net zero should look like.
The Origins of Horse Powertrain: A Decade in the Making
While Horse Powertrain may appear to be a relatively new name on the automotive landscape, its foundations stretch back much further than its official formation. The story begins in 2010, when China's Geely made headlines by acquiring Volvo from Ford. Rather than simply absorbing the Swedish brand's assets, Geely brought together two distinct combustion engine development programmes under a single, unified structure.
What made this move remarkable was the philosophy behind it. At a time when the broader industry was beginning its pivot toward all-out electrification, Geely chose a different path entirely. Instead of winding down its ICE investment, the company doubled down — expanding the division and committing serious resources to making combustion engines cleaner, more efficient, and more relevant for the decades ahead.
Just over ten years later, Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo made a similarly forward-thinking decision. He spun off Renault's own ICE programmes into a dedicated stand-alone business — also called Horse — mirroring the Geely approach in both spirit and structure. It was only a matter of time before the two like-minded organisations joined forces.
The result was Horse Powertrain: a company initially owned equally by Geely and Renault on a 50:50 basis. The venture has since attracted further investment, with Middle Eastern energy giant Saudi Aramco acquiring a 10% stake — a move that underlines just how seriously major global players are taking the long-term future of combustion technology.
Why ICE Engines Are Still Central to the Net Zero Story
The prevailing narrative in recent years has positioned battery electric vehicles as the singular solution to automotive emissions. While EVs undoubtedly have a crucial role to play, Horse Powertrain's leadership argues that this perspective overlooks a fundamental reality of global transport.
With approximately one billion vehicles expected to still be powered by combustion engines by the end of the next decade, the idea that ICE development can simply be abandoned is, at best, optimistic — and at worst, counterproductive. Horse Powertrain CEO Matias Giannini has been candid about this tension within the industry.
"I commend them for having that vision when many other OEMs were basically saying 'leave it alone, let's just focus on EVs, because EVs are going to accelerate very quickly, combustion engines are going to die and we don't need to do anything there,'" Giannini said, referring to the early conviction shown by Geely and Renault in continuing to invest in ICE technology.
His point is a compelling one. If a billion cars will still be burning fuel well into the 2030s, then making those engines as clean and efficient as possible is not a distraction from net zero — it is an essential part of achieving it.
The Innovation Driving Horse Powertrain Forward
Horse Powertrain's value proposition is built on the belief that combustion engines have significant room for improvement — and that this improvement is worth pursuing aggressively. Rather than treating ICE development as legacy work in a holding pattern until EVs take over completely, Horse approaches it as a live and vital engineering challenge.
This means investing in technologies that improve fuel efficiency, reduce tailpipe emissions, and explore the compatibility of combustion engines with alternative fuels such as synthetic e-fuels, hydrogen, and biofuels. These innovations are not at odds with electrification — they complement it, offering automakers and consumers greater flexibility as the global fleet transitions at different speeds in different markets.
The company's unique structure also gives it a distinct competitive advantage. By operating as a standalone powertrain specialist rather than as an internal division of a single automaker, Horse Powertrain can supply its engines and technology to multiple OEM partners simultaneously. This independence allows for faster development cycles, broader application of innovations, and a commercially sustainable model that does not depend on the fortunes of any one manufacturer.
Saudi Aramco's Stake: A Signal of Broader Confidence
The involvement of Saudi Aramco as a shareholder is more than a financial footnote. It signals a broader recognition among major energy producers that combustion engines — and the fuels that power them — will remain commercially and strategically significant for years to come. For Aramco, investing in cleaner, more efficient ICE technology aligns with its own interest in ensuring that liquid fuels remain part of the global energy mix during the transition period.
For Horse Powertrain, the partnership brings additional resources and credibility, reinforcing the message that its mission is grounded in long-term strategic thinking rather than short-term market positioning.
A Smarter Path to Net Zero
The story of Horse Powertrain challenges the automotive industry to think more carefully about what a realistic, equitable, and effective transition to net zero actually looks like. Electrification is important — but it is not the only tool available, and it is not reaching all markets, all income groups, and all vehicle segments at the same pace.
By continuing to make internal combustion engines better, more efficient, and more compatible with low-carbon fuels, Horse Powertrain is helping to ensure that the journey toward net zero does not leave billions of existing and future drivers behind. Combustion, it turns out, is not the enemy of a cleaner future — poorly optimised combustion is. And that is precisely the problem Horse Powertrain was built to solve.
- Horse Powertrain was formed from the merger of Geely-Volvo and Renault ICE development programmes.
- The company is owned by Geely and Renault, with a 10% stake held by Saudi Aramco.
- CEO Matias Giannini argues that improving combustion engines is essential to reaching net zero.
- Approximately one billion vehicles are expected to still use ICE power by the end of the next decade.
- Horse Powertrain operates as an independent supplier, enabling it to partner with multiple automakers.