Re: Geely Automotive business news
Geely Says Goodbye to Low-price Competition
Thu. November 13, 2008
Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd one of China's top private carmakers, has started its strategic transformation since 2007, waving a farewell to the low-price competition, said the chairman, Li Shufu.
The company has not produced the vehicles worth around CNY 30,000 any more, and seven to eight Geely car models have been eliminated. In particular, this automaker has substituted Free Cruiser, KingKong, Vision for its three outdated car models, including Haoqing, Merrie, and Uliou.
In the first half of this year, the sales volume of its three new car models accounted for 95% of the total, jumping 23.8% percentage points from a year earlier.
Along with the completion of the Global Geely Vision Manufacturing Base in the central Chinese city of Xiangtan, Hunan Province, on November 6, 2008, the company gave birth to the newest brand "Quanqiuying" (in Chinese). In the coming three to five years, Geely intends to create three to four sub- brands.
The Geely Chairman Li Shufu revealed that the company would unveil three to four new car models per year. Meanwhile, it is scheduled to set up five core technology platforms and 15 product platforms before 2015.
The financial crisis worldwide does not heavily struck Geely's export business, but its export volume has been on the decline since September 2008. Recently, it reduced the planned 2008 vehicle export volume to 40,000 from 60,000 or so.
Geely will be able to sell 230,000 vehicle this year, unless the global economic situation becomes worse, said Mr. Li. Remarkably, it intends to lift the sales target for the entire 2009.
In order to take the initiative in fending off the financial recession, the company built the Global Geely Vision Manufacturing Base. Covering a total area of around 373,520 square meters, the new base is composed of the pressing, painting, jointing, and final assembly centers, and its annual production capacity is expected to hit 100,000 vehicles.
Generally speaking, the Xiangtan-located base is designed to be responsible for development and production of the Geely Vision and other auto models adapt to the foreign markets in the near future.
As the first commercial family sedan model unveiled by Geely after the strategic reform, the Geely Vision made a fast and steady progress in the Chinese market. In particular, it is China's first self-developed car model that wins the 4-star rating of auto collision safety tests performed by the China New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP).
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