Geely Drives Upwards In A Waning Chinese Market, Reports 18% Jump In Profits

Geely Auto has rounded off a remarkable 2018, reporting a strong 18% increase in net profit, increasing to USD 1.84 billion compared to USD 1.56 billion in 2017, driven by global sales of 1,500,838 cars. Lynk & Co, Geely Auto’s premium brand, contributed 120,414 units to that total.

Net revenue for the period increased by 15% to USD 15.46 billion in 2018, compared to USD 13.46 billion in 2017. Geely Auto still generates 98% of its revenue from China, with only Eastern Europe the highest outside of China at 0.6% followed by the Middle East contributing 0.5%.  

Despite the overall downward trend for China’s passenger vehicle market (-4%), Geely continues to increase its market share, from 5% the year before to 6.2% in 2018.

The introduction of Geely’s third generation of vehicles since 2016 has continued to be a success with 55% of sales coming from new products together with a higher average selling price.

Meanwhile, Geely’s electrified powertrain range of vehicles that includes the Emgrand EV450, Emgrand GSe, Borui GE, and Lynk & Co 01 sold a combined total of 67,069 units, an increase of 165% from the previous year.

From this year, Geely will significantly increase the proportion of new energy vehicles in its sales volume through more offerings under the Lynk & Co brand, as well as launching its first pure electric model under the Geely Geometry brand.

Geely also recently introduced the Binyue compact SUV, the Jiaji which is the brand’s first MPV, and will launch the Xingyue crossover coupe soon. A total of six new models and ten facelift models are slated for launch this year to support the company’s sales target of 1.51 million units.