Geely roars past its sales growth target
Mainland carmaker sees sales rise 21pc for first four months, against target of 16 per cent, but worries about extension of new car cap
Sales at mainland carmaker Geely Automobile in the first four months of this year are already well ahead of its target growth rate, the company said, and it predicted a strong second half as long as the government did not further limit new car sales.
Geely said at its annual meeting yesterday that sales growth was 21 per cent, taking it to 187,377 units in the four months to April 30, against a target rate of 16 per cent for the whole year.
Lawrence Ang, Geely's executive director, said sales should grow even faster during the second half, when the group is due to launch four to five new models, including a brand new electric vehicle, the EC7.
"Our prospects are looking good this year as long as the [government] policy to cap the number of new car registrations isn't extended to second and third-tier cities," Ang said. "We were bracing ourselves earlier this year, expecting a cap to be imposed on Jiangsu province, but there's been no news so far."
Our prospects are looking good this year as long as the [government] policy to cap the number of new car registrations isn't extended to second and third-tier cities
The cap, aimed at easing traffic jams and air pollution in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Guiyang, has hurt car sales.