Across all of the many brands that it owns, Chinese automotive giant Geely Auto reported a huge 398 percent increase in the number of pure-electric and plug-in hybrid it sold in the first half of 2022, which accounted 18 percent of the company’s total sales volume. Revenues also went up year-over-year by 29 percent to 58.12-billion yuan ($8.5-billion), helped by the strong surge in what in China are known as “new energy vehicles” (EV, PHEV and FCV).
Geely also reported that sales of pure EVs had an even bigger increase, shooting up 520 percent, from 13,851 units in H1 2021 to 85,820 units in H1 2022. The group has a very strong EV focus that is shared across many of the brands that it owns, including Volvo, Polestar, Geometry, Zeekr (001 model pictured below) and Jidu. It’s also worth noting that the group sold more EVs than it did PHEVs, accounting for 69 percent of its new energy vehicle sales.
Gallery: Zeekr 001
Another interesting statistic mentioned in the half-year report is that the price per unit sold is also going up, climbing 21.1 percent to 102,00 yuan ($14,900). The company is also looking to increase its overseas exports, which are already 64 percent higher in H1 2022 year-over-year - it wants exports to account for 20 percent of its overall sales by 2025, up from today’s 14.3 percent, and if it maintains this growth rate, it seems easily achievable.
But even though Geely sold more electrified vehicles overall, its first half sales figure in China is actually 9 percent lower than last year (or 20 percent if we look at their internal combustion-engined vehicle sales), due in part to a drop in demand for non-electrified models. The pandemic which is still ongoing in the country is also partly to blame, according to the company’s management, with all the lockdowns greatly affecting people’s ability to purchase new cars.
However, even though the company reported increased revenues, its net profit actually went down by around 35 percent, suggesting that its profit margin for new energy vehicles isn’t on par with the internal combustion engines that it sells. The company has high hopes for its electric vehicle brands, Geometry and Zeekr, with the latter being pitched as a premium proposition (with vehicles built on the same Sustainable Experience Architectecture - SEA - as EVs from Volvo and Polestar).
