GEELY OVERTAKES NISSAN, HONDA, TOYOTA IN CHINA
Carmaker expects to sell more than 1.58m units this year as H1 net income rises 54pc
GEELY Automobile Holdings Ltd surpassed its top three Japanese rivals to become the third-largest carmaker in China, helped by models that appeal to the nation’s young consumers.
Net income rose 54 per cent to 6.67 billion yuan (RM4 billion) in the first six months through June from 4.34 billion yuan a year ago, it said in a filing yesterday. Revenue jumped 36 per cent to 53.7 billion yuan.
The carmaker said sales this year would beat its target of 1.58 million units.
Geely now trails only Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co in China, after overtaking Nissan Motor Co, Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp in the period.
Controlled by billionaire Li Shufu, Geely is among Chinese carmakers seeking to dominate the car industry as newer technologies, such as electrification and automation, define the future of transportation.
With an eye on leadership in its key market, Geely has been expanding, offering vehicles such as those under the Lynk & Co brand jointly developed with Volvo.
The mainland market share of the Hong Kong-listed company increased to 6.4 per cent in the first half of this year, from five per cent last year. It sold 766,730 vehicles in the period, beating Nissan’s 720,447. Geely sold 1.25 million vehicles last year.
Li has also been active overseas, expanding his automotive empire. After his purchase of Volvo Cars in 2010 from Ford Motor Co, he snapped up stakes in the iconic British sports-car maker Lotus Cars and Malaysia’s Proton Holdings Bhd.
In February. he disclosed a 9.7 per cent stake in Daimler AG, emerging as the largest shareholder in the maker of MercedesBenz.
Although cuts in subsidies for electric vehicles and the tariff war between the world’s biggest economies would weigh on industry sales in the second half, the company would build on the momentum from the first half, it said.