For three consecutive years, Geely has been number one in terms of sales number of all Chinese car brands. The latest numbers coming from the company’s HK listed entity, Geely Automobile Holdings shows that the brand sold 1.362 million cars in 2019. These numbers only include Geely, Lynk & Co and Geometry. Geely Auto’s other brands were not included in the final number as far as we can tell. This was in spite of the US-China trade war, the introduction of the China VI emission standard and an overall decline in automotive sales in 2019.
The press release below has the full breakdown.
PRESS RELEASE
Geely Auto Group’s Hong Kong listed entity, Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd (HK.0175) (Geely Auto) released its 2019 Financial Results showing a revenue of 97.4 billion RMB, net profit of 8.26 billion RMB, and profit attributable to stockholders of 8.19 billion RMB. In 2019, Geely Auto remained the reigning sales champion among Chinese brands for the third consecutive year with total sales of 1.362 million units.
Affected by multiple factors such as global economic downturn, Sino-US trade frictions, change to China VI emission standards, the overall automotive market saw a decline in 2019. In spite of the challenging market environment, Geely Auto maintained a strong position and saw its market share increase from 6.2% to 6.5%. Geely Auto’s income also became more diversified with auto financing becoming a new point of growth. Geely’s financial rating was also upgraded to “Baa3/ stable” by Moody’s.
In 2019, the three brands under Geely’s Hong Kong listed entity, Geely Auto, Lynk & Co (50% held by Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.), and Geometry continued to develop at the same pace with new sedans, SUVs, and MPVs being launched. Over the past five years, Geely Auto grown at a compound annual rate of over 30%, becoming the top-selling Chinese brand in the market. In 2020, Geely Auto ranked third overall in cumulative sales from January to February, achieving a market share of 7.3%, the highest in the company’s history.
Geely Auto products continue to increase in quality, technology, and value. Sales of models priced over 100,000 RMB accounted for 39% of all sales, ten times more than it was seven years ago and becoming a major profit segment for Geely Auto. The average price for Lynk & Co models reached 156,000 RMB, cementing the Lynk & Co’s brand premium.
As Geely’s brand value continues to rise, the company is quickly becoming the benchmark for Chinese brands everywhere. In 2019, Geely Auto became the official mobility partner of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. The Lynk & Co Cyan Racing Team won the WTCR team championship on the debut entry, achieving a history breakthrough for Chinese brands in the world’s top racing competition. Geely Holding Group became the only Chinese automaker on the “Top 10 Global Automotive Groups” published by British brand evaluation agency Brand Finance.
Overseas, Geely Auto’s rising brand image has helped exports grow to over 58,000 units in 2019, a 109% YoY increase. Geely Auto has become China’s second largest exported auto brand. Geely’s Belarus joint-venture BELGEE was also lifted by the improved brand influence with its sales increasing 30% YoY.
In 2019, Geely Auto dove deep into the era of modular architectures. The CMA Compact Modular Architecture jointly developed by Geely Auto and Volvo Cars set new global benchmarks in terms of safety, reliability, and quality. The newest representative model built on the CMA architecture is the Lynk & Co 05, which began pre-sales on March 28. For the Geely Auto brand, the Xingyue Coupe SUV made on the CMA architecture became the new flagship model of the brand.
This year will become a key year for Geely Auto branding and technology. Geely Auto will strengthen its product line and enter new markets segments with six new models in 2020; the Geely ICON, Haoyue SUV, Preface, Geometry C, Lynk & Co 05, and Lynk & Co 06 as well as a number of facelifted models. The first model on Geely Auto’s new pure electric modular architecture PMA will be unveiled later this year. Lynk & Co will also begin sales and delivery in Europe in the second half of 2020.
Within Geely Auto Group, four global modular architectures, BMA, CMA, SPA, and PMA has been developed to comprehensively cover all product requirements from pure electric to traditional fuel, from compact to mid-sized to executive class models. With the gradual advancement of Geely Auto’s modular architecture strategy, the company will grow more competitive globally and be able to offer users even better mobility experiences.
In 2019, Geely Auto’s parent company, Geely Holding Group invested more than 20 billion RMB in R&D, accounting for 6% of its revenue. Geely Holding’s investment ratio in R&D has consistently been higher than the industry average. After investing over 100 billion RMB in R&D over the past decade, the fruits have begun to show. Geely Auto’s mass-production models equipped with L2+ intelligent drive leads the industry in market share amongst Chinese brands. Geely Smart Ecosystem GKUI has been installed in over 1.75 million Geely vehicles, leading China into the era of intelligent connected vehicles.
Currently, new technologies causing unprecedented changes to global development and human lives, are also sweeping across the automotive industry. Geely proactively embraces change and develops through innovation. The company is creating new advantages through the integration of its online and offline presence. 2020 is the tenth anniversary of Geely Holding’s acquisition of Volvo Cars and on this significant year, Geely Auto and Volvo Cars have entered into a discussion around the merger and reorganization of the two entities. Together the two sides will become a stronger global enterprise with greater synergy, economy of scale, technical capabilities, and resources which will allow them to lead change in the industry.
