Volvo's Chinese-owner Geely sees sales surge 41%
& Zeekr Co Brands Chinese And Geely Owns Also Lynk
The Chinese car company Geely, which owns a majority of Volvo and Lotus, has seen sales during the first half of the year increase by more than 41% to nearly a million vehicles — nearly a third of which were electric.
Geely Automobile Holdings, which also owns the Chinese brands Geely Auto, Zeekr, and Lynk & Co, said between January and June, it generated revenue of 107.3bn Chinese yuan (€13.5bn) — an increase of 46.6% year-on-year.
The company's total gross profit increased to 16.2bn Chinese yuan, citing increased scale and product optimisation.
Geely recorded sales of 956,000 vehicles during the six-month period, of which 320,000 were electrified and new energy vehicles — an increase of 117% compared to the same period last year.
However, overseas sales accounted for just 197,428 units, which is still an increase of 67% compared to 2023.
The company said the Geely brand launched 12 vehicles across 30 countries since the start of the year and as of June, it has established more than 650 overseas sales and service outlets in 76 countries outside of China.
In its outlook for the rest of the year, Geely Automobile raised its annual sales target to two million units, with electrified new energy vehicles increasing by 70%.
Last month, Volvo was forced to cut its full-year sales forecast citing EU tariffs on electric cars. To get around these tariffs, the company said it would move the production of one of its key models, the fully-electric EX30, from China to Belgium.
The rest of Geely’s electric car offerings are also facing a 19.3% tariff by the EU.
On Wednesday, Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor Corporation, which owns MG, said trade actions such as the EU’s tariffs have affected sales this year.
SAIC’s group sales fell by 37% in July, while exports declined 16%. In a statement, SAIC blamed “pressures from the EU, US and others” for the fall.
Brussels has threatened to impose a 36.3% import tariff on EVs from SAIC, the highest level among the Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturers that were sampled by the EU.
The US, meanwhile, has quadrupled import taxes on Chinese EVs to more than 100%.