SHANGHAI, March 27 (Reuters) - China's Geely Group

is merging three existing units employing nearly

2,000 engineers to develop digital cockpit systems into a single

unified team, said a source with direct knowledge of the

situation.

The merger marks the carmaker's latest move to

streamline its workforce and improve efficiency.

Geely will integrate digital cockpit teams and investments

from the Zeekr, Lynk & Co and Geely brands,

which have until now developed cockpit systems independently，the

person said. In the past few months it has moved to integrate

its smart driving R&D teams.

It was not immediately known how many employees might lose

their jobs as part of the consolidation, which aims to reduce

both costs and redundancies, the source said.

"Geely is optimizing internal resources to enhance

synergies in technology and R&D across our brands, with no plans

for redundancies," Geely said in a statement to Reuters on

Thursday.

Smart cockpit systems are a key selling point for Chinese

automakers looking to woo consumers in the hyper competitive

domestic market as they enhance the driving experience with

features such as voice recognition and navigation maps.

Alongside its in-house teams, Geely also buys technology for

its smart cockpit systems from Ecarx ( ECX ) and smartphone

maker Meizu, which are both backed by Geely founder Li Shufu.

Geely and its affiliated brands contribute 70% of Ecarx's ( ECX )

revenue, its CEO has said.

The Chinese automaker, which aims to sell more than 5

million vehicles annually by 2027, has been restructuring its

sprawling brands into two units - Geely Auto and Zeekr Group -

targeting the mass market and premium segments respectively.

Geely has accelerated the adoption of smart driving

technologies on its vehicle brands over the past two months

after consolidating several engineering teams employing

thousands of people and partnering with artificial intelligence

company Qianli Technology.

Zeekr said in March it would start deliveries of its first

EV model equipped with technology that will allow drivers to

take their hands off the steering wheel in the second half of

2025.