Geely prospers even as China crashes
October was yet another horrid month for the car market in China, CPCA noting a 27 per cent plunge for passenger vehicle wholesales and the thirteenth successive monthly fall. In terms of hard numbers, the market is down by more than four million PVs compared to the first ten months of 2025.
You might think that it’s therefore a sea of red ink for Geely Auto Group (Geely, Zeekr and Lynk & Co). You’d be wrong. Very wrong: the combined Geely, Lynk & Co plus Zeekr reported record revenue and net profit for the first three quarters of any calendar year. Moreover, the Geely brand, strong at home in position number two behind BYD, and down less than the total market, continues its steady rise globally.
New models, additional models and very competitive pricing seem to be the main drivers of this still young firm’s ongoing rise. It’s worth remembering that unlike so many of the state-owned Chinese giants such as FAW and SAIC, Geely isn’t yet a quarter of a century old. That anniversary will come in March 2028.
Big in (South) America but what about the USA?
Given how rapid the company’s expansion has been in recent times, it would be unwise to bet against this ever expanding OEM becoming one of the world’s majors by the end of the decade. Ah yes, but can it do that without any presence in the United States?
The Geely brand is to be launched in Canada next year. Specifics of how this will happen remain mostly under wraps but remember, the founder has gone on the record stating that he likes the idea of (eventual) local production where it makes sense. Already there are deals with Renault in Brazil and within the next 18 months, Ford in Spain. A lot can change in a year or two, and the USA will surely be somewhere that Geely wishes to be. Production there by decade-end? And in partnership with a US-based major? Who knows.
What we do know is how rapid the rise of this brand has been in almost every one of its export markets. Europe is a case in point and within this region, the UK is arguably the best example of ever-increasing success. Remember that only a year or so ago, there was no Geely in Britain. Then examine the SMMT’s registrations data for October and notice that this name has now risen to position 24, overtaking Dacia and only 41 cars behind Citroen. Also, while we cannot doubt the ongoing surge of Leapmotor, Geely’s total of 16,669 YtD is well ahead of Stellantis’ JV partner’s 15,056 PVs.
UK market: model range to double by end of 2027
After launching the EX5 electric SUV, then adding the Starray PHEV and a smaller SUV, the EX2, the importer wishes us to know that this first-year roll-out was only the beginning. Having just attended a media event where all models were available to drive, I reacquainted myself with two of the present three and learned what’s to come in 2027.
We know that the Starray EM-i has recently gained all-wheel drive in certain other RHD markets, including Australia, where, incidentally, Geely is doing very well indeed. Looking at trends in greater Europe, surely some form of hybrid powertrain will be headed our way too. I would also hazard a guess that the EX2, EX5 and/or Starray might well be produced on the dormant Body 3 line (formerly S-Max/Galaxy/Mondeo) at Ford’s Almussafesplant when build of Geely vehicles commences in 2028. As of now, all examples of this C segment PHEV are imports from China; specifically the Linhai factory.
There should be official news within the next six months on what Geely and Ford have planned for the latter’s Valencia factory but it is believed that the Chinese company’s Global Intelligent New Energy Architecture Platform will be the basis of several vehicles. And that architecture allows EV, HEV and PHEV/EREV configurations. Then in a second phase, Ford might gain its own ladder-chassis SUV, derived from the Geely KO11. This recent arrival in China is called Galaxy Cruiser 700 there but the name could be different in Europe. As for the platform, it is officially known as GTA (Geely Terrain Architecture).
Monjaro takes the brand into the D-SUV segment
Such is the size of this company’s ambitions for the UK and other European region markets, we will not be waiting until 2028 for the arrival of multiple additions to the range. Soon enough, by which I mean early in 2027, the 4.8 m long Monjaro EM-i lands. This is a five-seat 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid SUV and it will be positioned above the Starray EM-i. And whatever the local name changes to, the new-in-China, 5.1 m Battleship/Galaxy Cruiser 700 then follows later in the year.
We will also be seeing the Emgrand L EM-i next year, another model which already exists in the company’s home market. In this case, it’s a plug-in hybrid saloon, which goes by name of ‘Galaxy Starshine 6 EF’ but might be called Emgrand L EM-i in the UK.
If you too are thinking that Geely might benefit from consistent, works-in-all-markets names, how about G-plus a number? Or two numbers? EX2 would for example become, say, G-2X, Emgrand L (a car) would be the G-5 while the Battleship 700 could be simplified to G-7X. Well, it’s just a suggestion and messy names, or indeed numbers, don’t seem to have been doing any harm to Geely’s stellar rise. Even in a collapsed market, the ‘Xingyuan’ is not only the brand’s top seller in China, it’s that country’s best seller (50,190 in October and 360,581 YtD). In Europe? EX2. Or E2.
Tiny in Europe’s No.1 market, huge in the UK: Jaecoo
As my brief refresher drives of models presently available in the British market showed, you don’t need to be offering state of the art driving dynamics to win favour with local buyers. Value for money is a big factor for a majority of customers, and Chery Auto, more than any other OEM, has mastered this throughout 2026: the Jaecoo 7 was again the nation’s number one last month. It should also end the year in second behind the Puma. Ten-months totals are 46,295 versus 42,797 with the Ford lagging the Jaecoo by just 43 cars in October.
Geely’s EX2, EX5 and Starray are all textbook examples of what I might term six to eight out of ten cars. In other words, slightly better than they need to be. Not stand-out great, but crucially, not bad in any area. Stand-out great vehicles did used to rule and these were called Fords. Namely the Fiesta, and the Focus. How that company must regret deleting each from its European range. In October, Ford even fell out of the UK top-ten, suffering a 35 percent YoY plunge. Positions eight and nine were taken by surging Chinese brands: Jaecoo and BYD. How long until Geely joins them?
Geely’s EX2, Starray and EX5 are priced from GBP20,990, GBP29,990 and GBP31,990 respectively. The Monjaro EM-i will join the range during the first quarter of 2027 with both front- and all-wheel drive variants to be offered. Pricing and exact specifications are yet to be confirmed. Just-Auto will drive the car at a preview event on 25 January.