Company type | Private | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Industry | Automotive | ||||||
Founded | 6 November 1986[1] in Taizhou, Zhejiang, China |
||||||
Founder | Li Shufu | ||||||
Headquarters | Binjiang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China | ||||||
Area served | Worldwide | ||||||
Key people |
| ||||||
Products | Automobiles, motorcycles, engines, transmissions, luxury vehicles | ||||||
Production output | 2.79 million vehicles (2023) [2] | ||||||
Revenue | CN¥92.1 billion (2020) [3] | ||||||
CN¥9.636 billion (2020) [3] | |||||||
CN¥6.44 billion (2020) [3] | |||||||
Total assets | CN¥206.74 billion (2020) [3] | ||||||
Total equity | CN¥64.21 billion (2020) [3] | ||||||
Owner | Li Shufu | ||||||
Number of employees | 131,517 (2023) [4] | ||||||
Subsidiaries | List
| ||||||
Chinese name | |||||||
Simplified Chinese | 浙江吉利控股集团有限公司 | ||||||
Traditional Chinese | 浙江吉利控股集團有限公司 | ||||||
| |||||||
Website |
zgh | ||||||
Footnotes / references in consolidated financial statement; shareholders' equity figure excluded perpetual bond [19] |
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. (ZGH), commonly known as Geely ( /ˈdʒiːli/ JEE-lee; Chinese: 吉利; pinyin: Jílì; lit. 'auspicious'), is a Chinese multinational automotive company, headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company is privately owned by Chinese entrepreneur Li Shufu. It was founded in 1986 and entered the automotive industry in 1997 with its subsidiary Geely Auto. [20] As of 2023 [update], the company ranks 225 in the 2023 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies. [4]
The company manufactures and sells vehicles under the names of Geely, Lynk & Co and Zeekr, which are part of the Geely Automobile Group, along with its subsidiaries and joint ventures, such as Volvo Cars, Polestar, Proton, Smart and Lotus, as well as commercial vehicles under the London EV Company, Radar Auto and Farizon brands. It also produces motorcycles under its subsidiaries Zhejiang Geely Ming Industrial (Jiming and Geely), Qianjiang Motorcycle (QJMotor and Keeway), and Benelli. It also holds a 9.7% stake in the Mercedes-Benz Group and a 17% stake in Aston Martin. [21] [22]
In 2024, the group produced a total of 2.79 million vehicles globally. 980,000 units were plug-in electric vehicles. [2]
Geely is a phonetic transliteration of the company's native name 吉利 ( pinyin: Jílì), which means "auspicious" or "propitious" in Chinese. [23]
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group was already manufacturing its own cars before it acquired the Swedish passenger car maker Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Company in 2010. [24] It completed the acquisition of British taxi maker London Electric Vehicle Company in 2013, [25] and acquired a majority stake in British sports carmaker Lotus Cars in 2017. [26]
The company's business is divided into five sub-groups: Geely Auto Group which includes the brands Geely Auto, Lynk & Co, Proton Holdings; Volvo Car Group which includes the brands Volvo Cars and Polestar; Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group which include the brands London Electric Vehicle Company and Yuan Cheng (Farizon); Geely Group (New Business) which includes the brands Caocao, Terrafugia, Qianjiang Motorcycle, Joma, and other new businesses; and Mitime Group (铭泰集团) which includes ZGH educational institutions, motorsports business, and tourism business; Its global operations span the automotive value chain, from research, development and design to production, sales and service. [27]
Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd (吉利汽车; Jílì Qìchē) ( SEHK: 175), a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. [28] On 13 February 2017, it became a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. [29]
Li Shufu, the founder of Geely Group, has described the company's development as encompassing three eras: the "1.0 era" of machinery, the "2.0 era" of electronics, and the "3.0 era" of intelligence. [30] [31]
Shufu founded Geely in 1986 as a refrigerator maker, borrowing funds from family. [23] [32]
After the purchase of a state-run firm, [33] Geely manufactured motorcycles in the mid-1990s. [34] Small van production began in 1998, [35] and a year later, it received state approval to manufacture automobiles. [35] Car production began in 2002. [32] A subsidiary of the group, Geely Auto, had its initial public offering on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 2004. [28]
The company had a booth at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, [36] and a 2006 showing at the North American International Auto Show. [23]
Geely approached Ford Motor Company in mid-2008 about a possible takeover of Volvo Cars. On 28 October 2009, it was named as the preferred buyer of Volvo by the American automaker. [37] A deal was reached in late March and completed in early August 2010. [38]
In 2010, total sales of over 415,000 units gave the company a near two percent market share. [39] [40] Sales were lower than a reported 680,000 units per year production capacity. [41]
In December 2011, it was announced that Geely would begin selling Chinese designed and manufactured cars in the United Kingdom at the end of 2012, with the first model to go on sale being the Emgrand EC7. [42] [43] At that time, the company also stated its intention to begin sales in Italy. [44]
In May 2017, Geely confirmed plans to purchase a 51% controlling-stake in Lotus Cars [45] from its owner, DRB-HICOM ( Proton). [9] Additionally, Geely was said to have plans to purchase a 49.9% stake in Proton Holdings, to facilitate future export growth in right-hand drive markets. [11] [46] The deals were part of the company's financial strategy of making inroads into the lucrative ASEAN region. [26]
In July 2017, the company purchased Terrafugia, an American maker of flying cars. [47] In November 2017, Geely announced completion of the Terrafugia acquisition, including approval from all relevant regulators. [48]
In December 2017, Geely invested €3.25 billion into Swedish truck and construction company Volvo Group, a former parent company of Volvo Cars. [49] The deal made Geely the biggest shareholder by number of shares with an 8.2% stake, and second by voting rights, with 15.6%. [49]
In 2018, Geely purchased a 9.7% stake in Daimler AG, owner of the Mercedes-Benz and Smart brands. [50]
In September 2019, Geely led a round of private funding for Volocopter that raised $55 million for the company. Volocopter's other private investors also include Daimler AG which owns a stake in the company. [51]
In late July 2020, it was announced that the Xingma Group had agreed to transfer a 15.2% stake of its shares in the Ma'anshan-based heavy truck manufacturer Hualing Xingma to Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Geely Holdings. After the transaction, Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group would become the de facto controlling shareholder of Hualing Xingma. [52]
In September 2020, Geely started talks with rival car manufacturers, including Daimler AG, to license a new architecture it developed for building electric cars. The new technology is purported to offer increased driving ranges of up to 700 km (430 mi) and lighter cars. [53]
Geely is set[ when?] to create an electric vehicle joint venture together with Baidu, a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services, products, and artificial intelligence. Baidu would develop the electric car's software while Geely would manufacture the car itself. [54] [55]
On 23 March 2021, Geely announced the launch of its Zeekr brand of electric vehicles. The first 001 Zeeker was launched in April 2021, and deliveries began in October 2021. [56]
In August 2021, Geely formed a strategic partnership with Renault, with a car production joint venture for China. [57] In January 2022, the two companies signed an agreement by which Renault's South Korean subsidiary, Renault Korea Motors, would produce vehicles based on Geely Compact Modular Architecture platform, [58] [59] initially intended for the domestic market. As of January 2022 [update], production was slated to start by 2024. [60] In May 2022, Renault said a Geely subsidiary was set to acquire a 34% of Renault Korea Motors through capital increase as part of their partnership, although the company would continue to be majority owned by Renault and a consolidated subsidiary of it. [61] [62] In November 2022, Renault said it plans to combine its powertrain production and development operations (including internal combustion engines and hybrid systems) with Geely's into a joint venture holding company with both as co-owners. [63] [64] In March 2023, Aramco signed a letter of intent to join the powertrain joint venture. [65]
In February 2023, Geely announced it would launch a new range of electric vehicles [66] and several new models of Geely Galaxy [67] within the next two years. [68]
In February 2024, Volvo Cars transferred a large part of its share in Polestar to Geely Holding, reducing its ownership from 48% to 18%. [69]
Based in China, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group operates in several global locations, via subsidiary brands. The Group's core business activities are within the automotive industry where it controls the following automotive groups and vehicle brands:
Division | Subsidiaries/brands |
---|---|
Geely Automobile Holding | Geely Auto, Geometry, Lynk & Co, Livan, Polestar,[ failed verification] Proton Cars(JV) |
Volvo Car Group | Volvo Cars |
Zeekr Intelligent Technology | Zeekr |
Lotus Group | Lotus Cars(JV), Lotus Technology(JV) |
Smart Automobile | Smart(JV) |
LEVC | London Electric Vehicle Company |
Radar New Energy Automobile | Radar Auto |
Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group | Farizon Auto, Hanma Technology(JV), Ou Ling Auto, Green Intelligent Link, Oneworld Technology |
Many of Geely's subsidiaries produce vehicles using shared architectures. Some examples include:
Geely Auto is Geely Group's original and mainstream brand, primarily sold in China and select overseas markets. It has two electric vehicle product line, the Geely Geometry for entry-level EV and Geely Galaxy for premium EV/PHEV.
Owned 50% by Geely Auto, 30% by Volvo Cars, and 20% by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Lynk & Co was formed in 2017. [71] It is a Chinese–Swedish car brand based on technology developed jointly by Volvo Cars and Geely Auto.
Polestar, an all-electric premium car brand established in Sweden, was previously part of Volvo Cars before being spun out into an independent entity. Polestar was initially 50.5% owned by Geely Holding and 49.5% by Volvo Cars. [72]
In February 2024, Volvo Cars transferred 62.7% of its stake of Polestar and it is currently 72% owned by Geely Holding and 18% by Volvo Cars. [73] [74]
Zeekr is a brand founded by Geely in 2021 which specializes in luxury EVs.
The Maple brand name originated with Shanghai Maple Automobile, a Geely subsidiary established in 1999 and phased out in 2010. [75] The brand was temporarily revived in 2020 by launching its first EV, the Maple 30X.
In 2022, Geely launched the joint venture between Lifan and Maple called Livan (Ruilan, 睿蓝), and the previous Maple products were reconsolidated into Livan brand.
Owned 51% by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and 49% by Etika Automotive, Lotus Cars is a British producer of sports and racing cars. The first Lotus car was built in 1948 and in June 2017, Lotus Cars became majority owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. [76]
Volvo Cars is owned 78.7% by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (post Volvo Cars IPO). [16] Zhejiang Geely Holding Group acquired Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Company in 2010. [24]
Yuan Cheng Auto (远程汽车) or Farizon Auto was formed in 2016 to focus on the development of commercial vehicles in China and has launched several long-range capable truck and bus solutions. The company raised over $300 million in a Pre-A Round in October 2022 led by GLP's investment arm Hidden Hill Capital, [77] and $600 million in a Series-A funding round in July 2023, led by Boyu Capital and Yuexiu Industrial Fund. [78] The factory was later acquired by the Chinese electric commercial vehicles company Yuan Cheng Auto, which in conjunction with Myoung Shin. The company plans to manufacture CKD-made electric trucks for the China market. [79]
Products include:
Farizon also has a sub-brand called Ouling (欧铃) selling gasoline-powered lower end micro trucks.
Radar is Geely's upscale pick-up truck brand, with its name standing for Rational, Alone, Discovery, Accompany, and Romantic.
The brand's first vehicle, the Radar RD6, was unveiled in 2022. [84]
The London Taxi Company, which was acquired by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2013, changed its name to London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) in 2017 to reflect its new mission of developing and producing electric commercial vehicles. With a new factory in Ansty Park, near Coventry, it has begun production of a new generation of zero-emission-capable new taxi vehicle in late 2017. [85]
Jidu Auto (集度), a joint venture between Geely and Baidu, intends to release a full portfolio of electric vehicles in different segments starting in 2022. [86] Jidu Auto is owned 55% by Baidu and 45% by Geely.
Ji Yue (极越) brand was established in August 2023, a second company between Geely and Baidu to reconstruct the partnership between the two companies. [87] The Ji Yue brand is 65% owned by Geely and 35% by Baidu which makes Ji Yue brand a subsidiary under Geely Group rather than a joint venture company like Jidu. [88] Due to the Chinese government's policies, Baidu as the controlling company of Jidu, cannot obtain the qualification to manufacture cars. The purpose of establishment of Ji Yue was to make Geely as the controlling company to solve the restriction of car manufacture qualification. [89] The Jidu Auto became a technology solution company to develop AI driving technology and will not be an independent car marque. [90]
With the new Ji Yue brand, the previous Jidu ROBO-01 was renamed as Ji Yue 01. The Ji Yue brand inherited the brand logo created by Jidu Auto. [91]
Owned 49.9% by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and 50.1% by DRB-Hicom and is managed by Geely Auto Group. Proton is the national car brand of Malaysia, established in the 1980s at the behest of the government and later reverted to private ownership under DRB-Hicom. [92]
The brand Proton, the national carmaker’s first-ever SUV Proton X70 based on first generation Geely Boyue has made its official launch debut in Malaysia on 12 December 2018. [93]
In July 2023, after the internal restructuring in Geely Group, the Proton brand was consolidated into the balance sheets of Geely Group. [94]
In 2020, Mercedes-Benz and Geely Holding formally established the smart brand as a global joint venture, targeting at producing zero-emission electric cars. [95] In 2022, the joint venture launched its first model Smart #1.
Qianjiang Motorcycle is one of the largest manufacturers of two-wheeled vehicles in China. Since September 2016, the majority shareholding (29.8%) of the company has been controlled by the Geely Group. The vehicles are sold under four brands: QJiang, QJMotor, Benelli, Keeway Motors and KSR Moto.
Benelli is a subsidiary that produces motorcycles and scooters. Design, development and marketing activities are carried out at the Benelli QJ headquarters in Pesaro, Italy, with production occurring in Wenling, China, for sale globally.
Geely has sold cars under at least three separate brands and may have continued to use the brand name of a purchased company for a short time. The Emgrand, Englon, and Gleagle names were phased out in 2014 [96] alongside efforts to reduce sprawl, [97] and the Shanghai Maple brand name was discontinued in 2010 and revived in 2020. [98]
Emgrand ( Chinese: 帝豪; pinyin: Dìháo) was launched in 2009 as a medium- to high-end luxury brand. [99] In 2014, Emgrand ceased to be a stand-alone brand, and Emgrand became a sub-brand of Geely, which itself adopted an updated version of the Emgrand logo.
Launched in 2010 and replacing the Shanghai Maple brand, [98] the company claimed Englon ( Chinese: 英伦; pinyin: yīng lún) emulated classic, British style, and its model line included a TX4 sold on the Chinese market. [100] Some of its cars were built by Geely subsidiary Shanghai LTI. [101] As Geely fully acquired The London Taxi Company in 2013, the emblem of Englon also became the new logo of The London Taxi Company. [101]
Gleagle ( Chinese: 全球鹰; pinyin: Quánqiú Yīng) was an entry-level brand. [102] Some Gleagle cars, such as the Gleagle Panda, were available for sale on the Internet in China via the Taobao Mall, a popular e-commerce site. [103] [104] While Geely would deliver the car to the customer's address, buying one of the Panda models on offer did necessitate a trip to a traditional dealer. [105] This sub-brand was discontinued in 2015. Most products continued to be sold directly under the Geely brand.
Zhidou Auto or ZD Auto brand specialized in microcars. The brand was discontinued since 2021.
Geely also produced motorcycles since 1994 with its own subsidiary, Geely Ming Industrial Co., with the brand Jiming and Geely Motorcycle.
Headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Geely has production bases in Lanzhou, Gansu (completed in 2006, Geely construction in the region continued as of August 2010 either for expanding the existing facility or for a new semi-complete knock-down factory); Xiangtan, Hunan; [106] an unnamed location 40 minutes south of Shanghai; [107] Jinan, Shandong; and at Linhai, Luqiao, and Ningbo in Zhejiang. [28]
There are overseas factories assemble Geely models probably from semi-complete or complete knock-down kits.[ citation needed] Such facilities are or have been located in Indonesia, Sri Lanka (in collaboration with Micro Cars), [108] [109] Malaysia, Russia (assembly controlled by local firm Derways), Belarus ( BelGee), [110] Azerbaijan ( NAZ), Tunisia, [111] and Ukraine. These locations are not necessarily affiliated with or owned by Geely.
Mercedes-Benz Group (9.69% stake)
Aston Martin (17% stake)
Volvo Group (6.8% stake)
Renault Korea Motors (34.02% stake)
Horse (50% stake)
Mitime Group was established in 2004 and is affiliated to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. It focuses on investment and operation management of higher education, sports, cultural tourism and other businesses. The group consists of three departments: Mitime Education, Mitime Sports and Mitime Cultural Tourism. [126]
In 2009, Geely bought Drivetrain Systems International Pty Ltd, [127] a global transmission developer headquartered in Australia.
In June 2022, Geely acquired a majority stake of Meizu, a Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer based in Zhuhai, Guangdong. [128]
Geely refers to its dealer network as 4S stores and also sells some models online. [105] In 2014, it had a reported 900 retail outlets. [97]
In addition to China, Geely vehicles have been sold in Argentina, [130] Australia, [131] Bahrain, [132] Brazil, [133] Botswana, Burundi, Chile, [134] Colombia, [135] Costa Rica, [136] Egypt, [137] Ethiopia, Indonesia, [138] Iran, [139] Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, [140] Nepal, [141] New Zealand, [142] Nicaragua, Nigeria, [143] Oman, [144] Pakistan, the Philippines, [145] Romania, [146] Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, [147] Saudi Arabia, [148] South Africa, [149] Suriname, Syria, [150] Taiwan, [151] Turkey, [152] Uganda, Ukraine, [153] Uruguay, [154] and Venezuela. [155] In a number of markets, Geely vehicles are assembled in local factories from complete knock-down kits. Geely is also marketed in Lebanon, through the Rasamny Younes dealership network.
The Cuban government has purchased a considerable number of Geely vehicles, and they are used as police patrol cars [33] or tourist taxis throughout Havana. [156] [157]
The Geely automobile brand was touted to be launched in the United Kingdom in late 2012. [158] [159] However, this plan was not pursued and the official website has been offline since mid-2014.
In July 2020, a first showroom opened in Doha, Qatar. [160]
In 2010, Geely brand surpassed its 400,000-vehicle sales target goal for the first time selling 415,286 cars [161] of its 680,000 units/year production capacity. [127]
Geely Auto Group (including Geely, Lynk & Co brand) reported annual sales of 1,500,838 units in 2018. That year marks the first time that Geely Auto had reached sales of 1.5 million units. [162]
Calendar year | Sales | Growth | Market share |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | 73,779 | N/A | 3.44% |
2004 | 98,283 | 33.21% | 3.99% |
2005 | 143,279 | 45.78% | 4.45% |
2006 | 205,346 | 43.32% | 4.89% |
2007 | 219,512 | 6.90% | 4.16% |
2008 | 221,786 | 1.04% | 4.08% |
2009 | 329,018 | 48.35% | 3.98% |
2010 | 414,465 | 25.97% | 3.70% |
2011 | 432,752 | 4.41% | 3.52% |
2012 | 491,445 | 13.56% | 3.72% |
2013 | 549,393 | 11.79% | 3.37% |
2014 | 425,773 | -22.50% | 2.31% |
2015 | 532,384 | 25.04% | 2.64% |
2016 | 778,896 | 46.30% | 3.30% |
2017 | 1,251,656 | 60.70% | 5.16% |
2018 | 1,382,119 | 10.42% | 5.96% |
2019 | 1,255,480 | -9.16% | 5.93% |
2020 | 1,134,433 | -9.50% | 5.77% |
Year | Total | Geely Automobile Holding | Livan/ Maple | Zeekr | Volvo | LEVC | Farizon | Lotus | Radar | Ji Yue | Smart [170] | Proton [171] | Zhidou | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Geely | Geometry | Galaxy | Lynk & Co | Polestar | |||||||||||||
2010 | 425,194 | 425,194 | - | - | - | - | discontinued | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2011 | 857,006 | 452,161 | - | - | - | - | - | 404,735 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
2012 | 905,083 | 527,918 | - | - | - | - | - | 377,165 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
2013 | 979,691 | 617,484 | - | - | - | - | - | 362,207 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
2014 | 878,818 | 499,165 | - | - | - | - | - | 379,653 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
2015 | 1,025,287 | 578,517 | - | - | - | - | - | 421,374 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 25,395 | ||
2016 | 1,333,077 | 809,079 | - | - | - | - | - | 503,706 | - | 1,961 | - | - | - | - | - | 20,292 | |
2017 | 1,938,057 | 1,273,837 | - | - | 6,012 | - | - | 536,905 | - | 6,228 | 1,600 | - | - | - | 70,991 | 42,484 | |
2018 | 2,276,846 | 1,401,819 | - | - | 120,414 | - | - | 666,586 | 1,293 | 5,024 | 1,630 | - | - | - | 64,744 | 15,336 | |
2019 | 2,194,145 | 1,245,168 | 12,662 | - | 128,066 | - | - | 694,831 | 2,507 | 7,313 | 1,320 | - | - | - | 100,183 | 2,095 | |
2020 | 2,150,134 | 1,166,920 | 10,300 | - | 175,456 | 9,853 | 2,620 | - | 667,159 | 1,118 | 5,265 | 1,378 | - | - | - | 109,716 | 349 |
2021 | 2,189,409 | 1,046,186 | 55,320 | - | 220,516 | 21,940 | 4,945 | 6,007 | 698,693 | 392 | 18,980 | 1,710 | - | - | - | 114,708 | 12 |
2022 | 2,312,613 | 975,391 | 149,389 | - | 180,127 | 51,500 | 56,140 | 71,941 | 615,121 | 2,508 | 59,211 | 641 | undisclosed | - | 9,212 | 141,432 | discontinued |
2023 | 2,790,000 | 1,034,737 | 191,346 | 83,497 | 220,250 | 54,600 | 38,001 | 118,685 | 708,716 | 84,312 | 6,970 | 774 | 154,611 |
The 2009 Geely GE concept received criticism for looking like a Rolls-Royce. [172]
An unsuccessful lawsuit was brought against the company in the early 2000s by Toyota, which claimed Geely had "implied in ads that some of the parts [used in Geely vehicles] were made by Toyota". [173] Geely may also have previously used a logo that resembled that of Toyota. [174]
Geely is known for imbuing a sense of humor in the names of some of its vehicles. One of the Geely brand sedan is called the " King Kong" and its early model was named Uliou(Chinese: 优利欧, You Li Ou), [32] a play on words that literally means "better than the Tianjin Xiali (Chinese: 夏利, Xia Li) or the Buick Sail (Chinese: 赛欧, Sai Ou), two of its competitors. [175]
Geely vehicles will be launched into the UK late 2012
Please note that the Xiali is based on a Daihatsu Charade, so while this article refers to a "Toyota Charade" they really mean the Chinese-market version of the Daihatsu Charade, which was popular in China
Company type | Private | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Industry | Automotive | ||||||
Founded | 6 November 1986[1] in Taizhou, Zhejiang, China |
||||||
Founder | Li Shufu | ||||||
Headquarters | Binjiang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China | ||||||
Area served | Worldwide | ||||||
Key people |
| ||||||
Products | Automobiles, motorcycles, engines, transmissions, luxury vehicles | ||||||
Production output | 2.79 million vehicles (2023) [2] | ||||||
Revenue | CN¥92.1 billion (2020) [3] | ||||||
CN¥9.636 billion (2020) [3] | |||||||
CN¥6.44 billion (2020) [3] | |||||||
Total assets | CN¥206.74 billion (2020) [3] | ||||||
Total equity | CN¥64.21 billion (2020) [3] | ||||||
Owner | Li Shufu | ||||||
Number of employees | 131,517 (2023) [4] | ||||||
Subsidiaries | List
| ||||||
Chinese name | |||||||
Simplified Chinese | 浙江吉利控股集团有限公司 | ||||||
Traditional Chinese | 浙江吉利控股集團有限公司 | ||||||
| |||||||
Website |
zgh | ||||||
Footnotes / references in consolidated financial statement; shareholders' equity figure excluded perpetual bond [19] |
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. (ZGH), commonly known as Geely ( /ˈdʒiːli/ JEE-lee; Chinese: 吉利; pinyin: Jílì; lit. 'auspicious'), is a Chinese multinational automotive company, headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company is privately owned by Chinese entrepreneur Li Shufu. It was founded in 1986 and entered the automotive industry in 1997 with its subsidiary Geely Auto. [20] As of 2023 [update], the company ranks 225 in the 2023 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies. [4]
The company manufactures and sells vehicles under the names of Geely, Lynk & Co and Zeekr, which are part of the Geely Automobile Group, along with its subsidiaries and joint ventures, such as Volvo Cars, Polestar, Proton, Smart and Lotus, as well as commercial vehicles under the London EV Company, Radar Auto and Farizon brands. It also produces motorcycles under its subsidiaries Zhejiang Geely Ming Industrial (Jiming and Geely), Qianjiang Motorcycle (QJMotor and Keeway), and Benelli. It also holds a 9.7% stake in the Mercedes-Benz Group and a 17% stake in Aston Martin. [21] [22]
In 2024, the group produced a total of 2.79 million vehicles globally. 980,000 units were plug-in electric vehicles. [2]
Geely is a phonetic transliteration of the company's native name 吉利 ( pinyin: Jílì), which means "auspicious" or "propitious" in Chinese. [23]
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group was already manufacturing its own cars before it acquired the Swedish passenger car maker Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Company in 2010. [24] It completed the acquisition of British taxi maker London Electric Vehicle Company in 2013, [25] and acquired a majority stake in British sports carmaker Lotus Cars in 2017. [26]
The company's business is divided into five sub-groups: Geely Auto Group which includes the brands Geely Auto, Lynk & Co, Proton Holdings; Volvo Car Group which includes the brands Volvo Cars and Polestar; Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group which include the brands London Electric Vehicle Company and Yuan Cheng (Farizon); Geely Group (New Business) which includes the brands Caocao, Terrafugia, Qianjiang Motorcycle, Joma, and other new businesses; and Mitime Group (铭泰集团) which includes ZGH educational institutions, motorsports business, and tourism business; Its global operations span the automotive value chain, from research, development and design to production, sales and service. [27]
Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd (吉利汽车; Jílì Qìchē) ( SEHK: 175), a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. [28] On 13 February 2017, it became a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. [29]
Li Shufu, the founder of Geely Group, has described the company's development as encompassing three eras: the "1.0 era" of machinery, the "2.0 era" of electronics, and the "3.0 era" of intelligence. [30] [31]
Shufu founded Geely in 1986 as a refrigerator maker, borrowing funds from family. [23] [32]
After the purchase of a state-run firm, [33] Geely manufactured motorcycles in the mid-1990s. [34] Small van production began in 1998, [35] and a year later, it received state approval to manufacture automobiles. [35] Car production began in 2002. [32] A subsidiary of the group, Geely Auto, had its initial public offering on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 2004. [28]
The company had a booth at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, [36] and a 2006 showing at the North American International Auto Show. [23]
Geely approached Ford Motor Company in mid-2008 about a possible takeover of Volvo Cars. On 28 October 2009, it was named as the preferred buyer of Volvo by the American automaker. [37] A deal was reached in late March and completed in early August 2010. [38]
In 2010, total sales of over 415,000 units gave the company a near two percent market share. [39] [40] Sales were lower than a reported 680,000 units per year production capacity. [41]
In December 2011, it was announced that Geely would begin selling Chinese designed and manufactured cars in the United Kingdom at the end of 2012, with the first model to go on sale being the Emgrand EC7. [42] [43] At that time, the company also stated its intention to begin sales in Italy. [44]
In May 2017, Geely confirmed plans to purchase a 51% controlling-stake in Lotus Cars [45] from its owner, DRB-HICOM ( Proton). [9] Additionally, Geely was said to have plans to purchase a 49.9% stake in Proton Holdings, to facilitate future export growth in right-hand drive markets. [11] [46] The deals were part of the company's financial strategy of making inroads into the lucrative ASEAN region. [26]
In July 2017, the company purchased Terrafugia, an American maker of flying cars. [47] In November 2017, Geely announced completion of the Terrafugia acquisition, including approval from all relevant regulators. [48]
In December 2017, Geely invested €3.25 billion into Swedish truck and construction company Volvo Group, a former parent company of Volvo Cars. [49] The deal made Geely the biggest shareholder by number of shares with an 8.2% stake, and second by voting rights, with 15.6%. [49]
In 2018, Geely purchased a 9.7% stake in Daimler AG, owner of the Mercedes-Benz and Smart brands. [50]
In September 2019, Geely led a round of private funding for Volocopter that raised $55 million for the company. Volocopter's other private investors also include Daimler AG which owns a stake in the company. [51]
In late July 2020, it was announced that the Xingma Group had agreed to transfer a 15.2% stake of its shares in the Ma'anshan-based heavy truck manufacturer Hualing Xingma to Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Geely Holdings. After the transaction, Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group would become the de facto controlling shareholder of Hualing Xingma. [52]
In September 2020, Geely started talks with rival car manufacturers, including Daimler AG, to license a new architecture it developed for building electric cars. The new technology is purported to offer increased driving ranges of up to 700 km (430 mi) and lighter cars. [53]
Geely is set[ when?] to create an electric vehicle joint venture together with Baidu, a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services, products, and artificial intelligence. Baidu would develop the electric car's software while Geely would manufacture the car itself. [54] [55]
On 23 March 2021, Geely announced the launch of its Zeekr brand of electric vehicles. The first 001 Zeeker was launched in April 2021, and deliveries began in October 2021. [56]
In August 2021, Geely formed a strategic partnership with Renault, with a car production joint venture for China. [57] In January 2022, the two companies signed an agreement by which Renault's South Korean subsidiary, Renault Korea Motors, would produce vehicles based on Geely Compact Modular Architecture platform, [58] [59] initially intended for the domestic market. As of January 2022 [update], production was slated to start by 2024. [60] In May 2022, Renault said a Geely subsidiary was set to acquire a 34% of Renault Korea Motors through capital increase as part of their partnership, although the company would continue to be majority owned by Renault and a consolidated subsidiary of it. [61] [62] In November 2022, Renault said it plans to combine its powertrain production and development operations (including internal combustion engines and hybrid systems) with Geely's into a joint venture holding company with both as co-owners. [63] [64] In March 2023, Aramco signed a letter of intent to join the powertrain joint venture. [65]
In February 2023, Geely announced it would launch a new range of electric vehicles [66] and several new models of Geely Galaxy [67] within the next two years. [68]
In February 2024, Volvo Cars transferred a large part of its share in Polestar to Geely Holding, reducing its ownership from 48% to 18%. [69]
Based in China, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group operates in several global locations, via subsidiary brands. The Group's core business activities are within the automotive industry where it controls the following automotive groups and vehicle brands:
Division | Subsidiaries/brands |
---|---|
Geely Automobile Holding | Geely Auto, Geometry, Lynk & Co, Livan, Polestar,[ failed verification] Proton Cars(JV) |
Volvo Car Group | Volvo Cars |
Zeekr Intelligent Technology | Zeekr |
Lotus Group | Lotus Cars(JV), Lotus Technology(JV) |
Smart Automobile | Smart(JV) |
LEVC | London Electric Vehicle Company |
Radar New Energy Automobile | Radar Auto |
Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group | Farizon Auto, Hanma Technology(JV), Ou Ling Auto, Green Intelligent Link, Oneworld Technology |
Many of Geely's subsidiaries produce vehicles using shared architectures. Some examples include:
Geely Auto is Geely Group's original and mainstream brand, primarily sold in China and select overseas markets. It has two electric vehicle product line, the Geely Geometry for entry-level EV and Geely Galaxy for premium EV/PHEV.
Owned 50% by Geely Auto, 30% by Volvo Cars, and 20% by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Lynk & Co was formed in 2017. [71] It is a Chinese–Swedish car brand based on technology developed jointly by Volvo Cars and Geely Auto.
Polestar, an all-electric premium car brand established in Sweden, was previously part of Volvo Cars before being spun out into an independent entity. Polestar was initially 50.5% owned by Geely Holding and 49.5% by Volvo Cars. [72]
In February 2024, Volvo Cars transferred 62.7% of its stake of Polestar and it is currently 72% owned by Geely Holding and 18% by Volvo Cars. [73] [74]
Zeekr is a brand founded by Geely in 2021 which specializes in luxury EVs.
The Maple brand name originated with Shanghai Maple Automobile, a Geely subsidiary established in 1999 and phased out in 2010. [75] The brand was temporarily revived in 2020 by launching its first EV, the Maple 30X.
In 2022, Geely launched the joint venture between Lifan and Maple called Livan (Ruilan, 睿蓝), and the previous Maple products were reconsolidated into Livan brand.
Owned 51% by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and 49% by Etika Automotive, Lotus Cars is a British producer of sports and racing cars. The first Lotus car was built in 1948 and in June 2017, Lotus Cars became majority owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. [76]
Volvo Cars is owned 78.7% by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (post Volvo Cars IPO). [16] Zhejiang Geely Holding Group acquired Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Company in 2010. [24]
Yuan Cheng Auto (远程汽车) or Farizon Auto was formed in 2016 to focus on the development of commercial vehicles in China and has launched several long-range capable truck and bus solutions. The company raised over $300 million in a Pre-A Round in October 2022 led by GLP's investment arm Hidden Hill Capital, [77] and $600 million in a Series-A funding round in July 2023, led by Boyu Capital and Yuexiu Industrial Fund. [78] The factory was later acquired by the Chinese electric commercial vehicles company Yuan Cheng Auto, which in conjunction with Myoung Shin. The company plans to manufacture CKD-made electric trucks for the China market. [79]
Products include:
Farizon also has a sub-brand called Ouling (欧铃) selling gasoline-powered lower end micro trucks.
Radar is Geely's upscale pick-up truck brand, with its name standing for Rational, Alone, Discovery, Accompany, and Romantic.
The brand's first vehicle, the Radar RD6, was unveiled in 2022. [84]
The London Taxi Company, which was acquired by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2013, changed its name to London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) in 2017 to reflect its new mission of developing and producing electric commercial vehicles. With a new factory in Ansty Park, near Coventry, it has begun production of a new generation of zero-emission-capable new taxi vehicle in late 2017. [85]
Jidu Auto (集度), a joint venture between Geely and Baidu, intends to release a full portfolio of electric vehicles in different segments starting in 2022. [86] Jidu Auto is owned 55% by Baidu and 45% by Geely.
Ji Yue (极越) brand was established in August 2023, a second company between Geely and Baidu to reconstruct the partnership between the two companies. [87] The Ji Yue brand is 65% owned by Geely and 35% by Baidu which makes Ji Yue brand a subsidiary under Geely Group rather than a joint venture company like Jidu. [88] Due to the Chinese government's policies, Baidu as the controlling company of Jidu, cannot obtain the qualification to manufacture cars. The purpose of establishment of Ji Yue was to make Geely as the controlling company to solve the restriction of car manufacture qualification. [89] The Jidu Auto became a technology solution company to develop AI driving technology and will not be an independent car marque. [90]
With the new Ji Yue brand, the previous Jidu ROBO-01 was renamed as Ji Yue 01. The Ji Yue brand inherited the brand logo created by Jidu Auto. [91]
Owned 49.9% by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and 50.1% by DRB-Hicom and is managed by Geely Auto Group. Proton is the national car brand of Malaysia, established in the 1980s at the behest of the government and later reverted to private ownership under DRB-Hicom. [92]
The brand Proton, the national carmaker’s first-ever SUV Proton X70 based on first generation Geely Boyue has made its official launch debut in Malaysia on 12 December 2018. [93]
In July 2023, after the internal restructuring in Geely Group, the Proton brand was consolidated into the balance sheets of Geely Group. [94]
In 2020, Mercedes-Benz and Geely Holding formally established the smart brand as a global joint venture, targeting at producing zero-emission electric cars. [95] In 2022, the joint venture launched its first model Smart #1.
Qianjiang Motorcycle is one of the largest manufacturers of two-wheeled vehicles in China. Since September 2016, the majority shareholding (29.8%) of the company has been controlled by the Geely Group. The vehicles are sold under four brands: QJiang, QJMotor, Benelli, Keeway Motors and KSR Moto.
Benelli is a subsidiary that produces motorcycles and scooters. Design, development and marketing activities are carried out at the Benelli QJ headquarters in Pesaro, Italy, with production occurring in Wenling, China, for sale globally.
Geely has sold cars under at least three separate brands and may have continued to use the brand name of a purchased company for a short time. The Emgrand, Englon, and Gleagle names were phased out in 2014 [96] alongside efforts to reduce sprawl, [97] and the Shanghai Maple brand name was discontinued in 2010 and revived in 2020. [98]
Emgrand ( Chinese: 帝豪; pinyin: Dìháo) was launched in 2009 as a medium- to high-end luxury brand. [99] In 2014, Emgrand ceased to be a stand-alone brand, and Emgrand became a sub-brand of Geely, which itself adopted an updated version of the Emgrand logo.
Launched in 2010 and replacing the Shanghai Maple brand, [98] the company claimed Englon ( Chinese: 英伦; pinyin: yīng lún) emulated classic, British style, and its model line included a TX4 sold on the Chinese market. [100] Some of its cars were built by Geely subsidiary Shanghai LTI. [101] As Geely fully acquired The London Taxi Company in 2013, the emblem of Englon also became the new logo of The London Taxi Company. [101]
Gleagle ( Chinese: 全球鹰; pinyin: Quánqiú Yīng) was an entry-level brand. [102] Some Gleagle cars, such as the Gleagle Panda, were available for sale on the Internet in China via the Taobao Mall, a popular e-commerce site. [103] [104] While Geely would deliver the car to the customer's address, buying one of the Panda models on offer did necessitate a trip to a traditional dealer. [105] This sub-brand was discontinued in 2015. Most products continued to be sold directly under the Geely brand.
Zhidou Auto or ZD Auto brand specialized in microcars. The brand was discontinued since 2021.
Geely also produced motorcycles since 1994 with its own subsidiary, Geely Ming Industrial Co., with the brand Jiming and Geely Motorcycle.
Headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Geely has production bases in Lanzhou, Gansu (completed in 2006, Geely construction in the region continued as of August 2010 either for expanding the existing facility or for a new semi-complete knock-down factory); Xiangtan, Hunan; [106] an unnamed location 40 minutes south of Shanghai; [107] Jinan, Shandong; and at Linhai, Luqiao, and Ningbo in Zhejiang. [28]
There are overseas factories assemble Geely models probably from semi-complete or complete knock-down kits.[ citation needed] Such facilities are or have been located in Indonesia, Sri Lanka (in collaboration with Micro Cars), [108] [109] Malaysia, Russia (assembly controlled by local firm Derways), Belarus ( BelGee), [110] Azerbaijan ( NAZ), Tunisia, [111] and Ukraine. These locations are not necessarily affiliated with or owned by Geely.
Mercedes-Benz Group (9.69% stake)
Aston Martin (17% stake)
Volvo Group (6.8% stake)
Renault Korea Motors (34.02% stake)
Horse (50% stake)
Mitime Group was established in 2004 and is affiliated to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. It focuses on investment and operation management of higher education, sports, cultural tourism and other businesses. The group consists of three departments: Mitime Education, Mitime Sports and Mitime Cultural Tourism. [126]
In 2009, Geely bought Drivetrain Systems International Pty Ltd, [127] a global transmission developer headquartered in Australia.
In June 2022, Geely acquired a majority stake of Meizu, a Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer based in Zhuhai, Guangdong. [128]
Geely refers to its dealer network as 4S stores and also sells some models online. [105] In 2014, it had a reported 900 retail outlets. [97]
In addition to China, Geely vehicles have been sold in Argentina, [130] Australia, [131] Bahrain, [132] Brazil, [133] Botswana, Burundi, Chile, [134] Colombia, [135] Costa Rica, [136] Egypt, [137] Ethiopia, Indonesia, [138] Iran, [139] Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, [140] Nepal, [141] New Zealand, [142] Nicaragua, Nigeria, [143] Oman, [144] Pakistan, the Philippines, [145] Romania, [146] Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, [147] Saudi Arabia, [148] South Africa, [149] Suriname, Syria, [150] Taiwan, [151] Turkey, [152] Uganda, Ukraine, [153] Uruguay, [154] and Venezuela. [155] In a number of markets, Geely vehicles are assembled in local factories from complete knock-down kits. Geely is also marketed in Lebanon, through the Rasamny Younes dealership network.
The Cuban government has purchased a considerable number of Geely vehicles, and they are used as police patrol cars [33] or tourist taxis throughout Havana. [156] [157]
The Geely automobile brand was touted to be launched in the United Kingdom in late 2012. [158] [159] However, this plan was not pursued and the official website has been offline since mid-2014.
In July 2020, a first showroom opened in Doha, Qatar. [160]
In 2010, Geely brand surpassed its 400,000-vehicle sales target goal for the first time selling 415,286 cars [161] of its 680,000 units/year production capacity. [127]
Geely Auto Group (including Geely, Lynk & Co brand) reported annual sales of 1,500,838 units in 2018. That year marks the first time that Geely Auto had reached sales of 1.5 million units. [162]
Calendar year | Sales | Growth | Market share |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | 73,779 | N/A | 3.44% |
2004 | 98,283 | 33.21% | 3.99% |
2005 | 143,279 | 45.78% | 4.45% |
2006 | 205,346 | 43.32% | 4.89% |
2007 | 219,512 | 6.90% | 4.16% |
2008 | 221,786 | 1.04% | 4.08% |
2009 | 329,018 | 48.35% | 3.98% |
2010 | 414,465 | 25.97% | 3.70% |
2011 | 432,752 | 4.41% | 3.52% |
2012 | 491,445 | 13.56% | 3.72% |
2013 | 549,393 | 11.79% | 3.37% |
2014 | 425,773 | -22.50% | 2.31% |
2015 | 532,384 | 25.04% | 2.64% |
2016 | 778,896 | 46.30% | 3.30% |
2017 | 1,251,656 | 60.70% | 5.16% |
2018 | 1,382,119 | 10.42% | 5.96% |
2019 | 1,255,480 | -9.16% | 5.93% |
2020 | 1,134,433 | -9.50% | 5.77% |
Year | Total | Geely Automobile Holding | Livan/ Maple | Zeekr | Volvo | LEVC | Farizon | Lotus | Radar | Ji Yue | Smart [170] | Proton [171] | Zhidou | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Geely | Geometry | Galaxy | Lynk & Co | Polestar | |||||||||||||
2010 | 425,194 | 425,194 | - | - | - | - | discontinued | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2011 | 857,006 | 452,161 | - | - | - | - | - | 404,735 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
2012 | 905,083 | 527,918 | - | - | - | - | - | 377,165 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
2013 | 979,691 | 617,484 | - | - | - | - | - | 362,207 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
2014 | 878,818 | 499,165 | - | - | - | - | - | 379,653 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
2015 | 1,025,287 | 578,517 | - | - | - | - | - | 421,374 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 25,395 | ||
2016 | 1,333,077 | 809,079 | - | - | - | - | - | 503,706 | - | 1,961 | - | - | - | - | - | 20,292 | |
2017 | 1,938,057 | 1,273,837 | - | - | 6,012 | - | - | 536,905 | - | 6,228 | 1,600 | - | - | - | 70,991 | 42,484 | |
2018 | 2,276,846 | 1,401,819 | - | - | 120,414 | - | - | 666,586 | 1,293 | 5,024 | 1,630 | - | - | - | 64,744 | 15,336 | |
2019 | 2,194,145 | 1,245,168 | 12,662 | - | 128,066 | - | - | 694,831 | 2,507 | 7,313 | 1,320 | - | - | - | 100,183 | 2,095 | |
2020 | 2,150,134 | 1,166,920 | 10,300 | - | 175,456 | 9,853 | 2,620 | - | 667,159 | 1,118 | 5,265 | 1,378 | - | - | - | 109,716 | 349 |
2021 | 2,189,409 | 1,046,186 | 55,320 | - | 220,516 | 21,940 | 4,945 | 6,007 | 698,693 | 392 | 18,980 | 1,710 | - | - | - | 114,708 | 12 |
2022 | 2,312,613 | 975,391 | 149,389 | - | 180,127 | 51,500 | 56,140 | 71,941 | 615,121 | 2,508 | 59,211 | 641 | undisclosed | - | 9,212 | 141,432 | discontinued |
2023 | 2,790,000 | 1,034,737 | 191,346 | 83,497 | 220,250 | 54,600 | 38,001 | 118,685 | 708,716 | 84,312 | 6,970 | 774 | 154,611 |
The 2009 Geely GE concept received criticism for looking like a Rolls-Royce. [172]
An unsuccessful lawsuit was brought against the company in the early 2000s by Toyota, which claimed Geely had "implied in ads that some of the parts [used in Geely vehicles] were made by Toyota". [173] Geely may also have previously used a logo that resembled that of Toyota. [174]
Geely is known for imbuing a sense of humor in the names of some of its vehicles. One of the Geely brand sedan is called the " King Kong" and its early model was named Uliou(Chinese: 优利欧, You Li Ou), [32] a play on words that literally means "better than the Tianjin Xiali (Chinese: 夏利, Xia Li) or the Buick Sail (Chinese: 赛欧, Sai Ou), two of its competitors. [175]
Geely vehicles will be launched into the UK late 2012
Please note that the Xiali is based on a Daihatsu Charade, so while this article refers to a "Toyota Charade" they really mean the Chinese-market version of the Daihatsu Charade, which was popular in China