Geely Auto has made history as it surpasses the 10 million sales mark, just 23 years after it was founded by Li Shufu. According to the company, nearly half of the sales was recorded in the past three years alone.
In the month of October 2020, Geely recorded an impressive sales figure of 140,026 units, representing a healthy increase of 11% compared to the previous month and 8% over the same period last year.
Geely’s first car came in 1997 in the form of a subcompact called the Hao Qing, which was basically a rebadged Daihatsu Charade. However, it is worth noting that in 1996, the company built the Geely Number 01, a W210 Mercedes-Benz E-Class knockoff based on an Audi 100 made by the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture. Suffice to say, the car didn’t get to see the light of day.
Things really took off for Geely when they introduced the Emgrand in 2009. The model spawned a few variations, such as the Emgrand GS crossover and the Emgrand GL sedan, which play a part in helping the model range to achieve total sales of over 3 million units as of this year.
Also contributing heavily to Geely’s total sales growth is the Bo Yue SUV, which is also known as the Emgrand X7 or Azkarra in overseas markets and sold as the Proton X70 in Malaysia. The Bo Yue is one of the best-selling China-made SUVs with over 1 million units sold since its inception four years ago.
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Geely Auto was founded in 1997 by Founder, and now Chairman, Li Shufu who believed in the potential of the Chinese automotive market as consumers transitioned from bicycles to motorbikes to motor vehicles.
The first Geely Auto vehicle was produced in 1997 – named the Hao Qing. The Hao Qing made history as the first privately made Chinese domestic vehicle and offered an alternative to other popular small cars from Japan that cost more than 100,000RMB (at the time a salary of 10,000RMB per year was considered high). First-year sales would reach 10,000 units, by 2003 sales reached 100,000 before tripling again to 326,000 in 2009 and quadrupling to 1.58 million in 2018.
The introduction of the Emgrand series in 2009 helped to propel Geely Auto into the fast lane; the new model range stood for Geely Auto’s repositioning to focusing on premium, quality and performance as brand pillars, which resonated with consumers.
Further introduction of Emgrand models such as the Emgrand GS Crossover and Emgrand GL sedan helped to push total Emgrand sales to over 3 million units as of 2020.
The same can be said of the Bo Yue SUV (Emgrand X7 or Azkarra in overseas markets, Proton X70 in Malaysia), which has also contributed heavily to Geely’s total sales growth, reaching 1 million units since its introduction in late 2016 and becoming one of the best-selling Chinese domestic SUV’s to date.
When Geely Auto’s parent company, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, acquired Volvo Cars in 2010, technological cooperation was placed at the forefront of the company’s plan. Today, technological innovations such as the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), small efficient powertrain technologies that make use of electrification paired with the jointly-created 7DCT gearbox used across the Geely Auto, Lynk & Co and Volvo Car ranges with other family brands such as Proton Cars also racing to use group technologies.
Geely Auto’s CMA-based cars, introduced over the last couple of years in the Xing Yue coupe-SUV crossover and the recently-launched Preface (Xing Rui in the China market) sedan have redefined Geely’s position as a technology leader in the global automotive sphere with strong sales results in China and in global markets where Geely operates.
Nearly half of Geely Auto’s ten million sales came in the past three years alone, showcasing the rapid growth that Geely has committed itself to.
