Carmaker Geely has its headlights firmly set on the home market
Auto giant has gone it alone, avoiding joint ventures with foreign marques. But its reputation changed overnight in 2010 when it bought Volvo for US$1.5bn
Geely Automobile Holdings, the Chinese carmaker whose parent owns the Swedish brand Volvo, has vowed to have 90 per cent of its vehicles powered by hybrid engines by 2020, while trying to keep its distance from the proliferating all-electric car landscape.
“All of our current assembly lines are designed to produce cars that are hybrid, but we don’t think all-electric is the way to be,” Gui Shengyue, the company’s chief executive, told South China Morning Post in an interview in Hong Kong.
Based in the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou, Geely will launch its first hybrid vehicle in the fourth quarter of this year, he added.
It has also declared a sales war against Volkswagen, General Motors, Toyota and other Western brands that have long-dominated the world’s largest automobile market through their joint-ventures (JV) set up with state-owned Chinese manufacturers.
“Foreign brands are declining in China, and the future of the country’s domestic car market lies in the hands of indigenous players that offer better value for money,” Gui said.
The firm, founded by Zhejiang native Li Shufu in 1986 with a loan from his farmer father, is China’s first non-state-owned car manufacturer.