Geely’s shares surge after sales hit top gear in September

Chinese carmaker Geely rallied on Tuesday, bucking the market’s downward trend to close 5.3 per cent higher after the company announced a dramatic rise in monthly sales in September.

The carmaker sold a record 76,544 cars in the month, up 43 per cent from August, which on a yearly basis is an 82 per cent rise. It exported 2,074 cars in the month, a 181 per cent surge from the same period last year, while its total China sales were up by about 80 per cent year-on-year to 74,470.

Total sales in the first nine months were 459,041, up 29 per cent on last year, and already 70 per cent of its revised full-year sales target of 660,000 units.

Liang Yong-huo, an analyst at China Merchants Securities, said Geely is his top pick in China’s auto sector at present, with strong sales growth.

“The newly launched model Emgrand GL will be a new catalyst for Geely’s stock price,” said Liang, who set the one-year target price to HK$11, which is 46 per cent higher than Tuesday’s close at HK$7.55. The Hang Seng index fell 1.27 per cent to 23,549.52 points.

Geely started production at a new assembly plant in Baoji in Shaanxi province last week, to supply the northwest China market.