Geely now third-largest carmaker in China
August 28, 2018 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
Geely Automobile Holdings has become the third-largest carmaker in China, trailing only Volkswagen and General Motors in the world’s largest vehicle market. The ranking came after the Hong Kong-listed carmaker delivered 766,630 vehicles in the first half of the year, beating Nissan Motor’s 720,447. Nissan has been the best-selling Japanese brand in China in recent years. Geely’s market share increased to 6.4% in the first half of this year, from 5% in 2017. Reporting a 54% jump in net income to CNY6.67 billion for the six months through June, the carmaker owned by billionaire Li Shufu said in a filing that sales this year will beat its target of 1.58 million units. Geely sold 1.25 million vehicles in 2017, up 63% year-on-year.
Geely is among Chinese carmakers seeking to play a more important role in the auto industry. In a strategy document released in 2015, the company said electric cars, hybrids and plug-in hybrids will account for 90% of its vehicle sales by 2020. Geely has been expanding, offering vehicles such as those under the Lynk & Co brand jointly developed with Volvo Cars, which Li’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co bought in 2010. Geely has been far outpacing the broader market by posting a 43% increase in its sales in the first seven months this year. Geely has also been expanding overseas. After the purchase of Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Co in 2010, the carmaker snapped up stakes in the iconic British sports-car maker Lotus Cars and Malaysia’s Proton Holdings last year. In February, Geely took a 9.7% stake in Daimler, emerging as the largest shareholder in the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars.
The carmaker has multiple production bases outside China. It is also planning to sell its Lynk & Co cars in Europe soon, Geely Automobile Holdings CEO Gui Shengyue told reporters in Hong Kong. “We have a real product to go global now,” he added, as reported by the China Daily.
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