Geely

In addition to building conventional vehicles, Geely is also aiming to become a leader in the development and production of electric cars, further driving China’s electric mobility. Collaborations with Chinese search engine giant Baidu and Mercedes of Germany are expected to facilitate its entry into the market. Geely also owns Terrafugia, a manufacturer of air taxis.
The Geely Logo
Geely also owes its meaning to its founder Li Shufu. The name Geely is pronounced Jili. It means as much as auspicious. The first Geely logo was also based on this. The six slanted columns on the oval are the tips of six sixes that merge into each other.

The Chinese word for the number six is liù. There is also a proverb called liùliù dà shùn. It is the wish for everything to run smoothly. In 2013, Geely changed its logo. Now the Geely logo is in the shape of a shield divided into six squares. The shield is meant to indicate the safety of the vehicles. The squares are colored blue and black, representing the sky and the earth.
Geely subsidiaries
The Geely Group has a number of subsidiaries under its umbrella. These include a total of seven companies. These brands belong to Geely:

Geely Auto: The main brand of the group. It is also traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange as Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.

Geometry: The electric vehicles are based on models from Geely Auto.

Lynk & Co: 50 percent of the brand is owned by Geely Auto, 20 percent by Zhejiang Geely Holding and 30 percent by Volvo. The vehicles are expected to rank below Volvo models and will be sold directly without dealers.
Polestar: High-performance electric cars of the Volvo brand will be sold under this name. 50 percent is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding, the other 50 percent by Volvo.
Proton: The car brand from Malaysia is 51 percent owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding and managed by Geely Auto.

Lotus Cars: Since June 2017, 51 percent of the traditional British brand has been owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding.

Volvo Cars: In 2010, Zhejiang Geely Holding bought the Swedish brand from Ford for $1.4 billion.

These brands are joined by the Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group. Under it, the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) and Yuang Cheng Auto brands are combined. LEVC is probably the best known. This is the world famous London Taxi. A brand that Zhejiang Geely Holding snatched up in 2013. Since then, the vehicles have been built exclusively with electric drive.
Volvo and Lotus: famous Geely holdings.
In Europe, Geely is best known for its stakes in Volvo and Lotus. Mainly because while Li Shufu supports the brands, he lets them operate independently. This way, the European flair of the vehicles is preserved. But at the same time, it opens up the world’s largest car market. Geely also provides money for research and development.

Geely’s acquisition of Volvo in 2010 was spectacular. Experts feared a sell-off. But since then, the Swedish brand has been growing. Geely has been pushing hard on vehicle electrification. Lotus absorbed Geely through the back door in 2017. At the time, the Brits were owned by Proton. Geely took a 51 percent stake in the Malaysia-based automaker and acquired a majority stake in Lotus.
Who owns Geely.
Geely is owned by Chinese entrepreneur and billionaire Li Shufu. He is the founder and chairman of the board at the China-based carmaker. He is also chairman of the board at Volvo and the largest single shareholder at Daimler. With a fortune of around 19.5 billion dollars, the self-made billionaire is one of the ten richest Chinese.

Since 2018, Li Shufu has also owned 9.7 percent of Daimler’s shares. He paid around 7.5 billion euros for them. However, cooperation between Daimler and Geely initially proved difficult. Namely, in the People’s Republic of China, the Germans cooperate with Geely competitors BYD and BAIC.
Cooperation between Daimler and Geely
Since 2020, however, Daimler has been developing a gasoline engine together with Geely. In addition, the group from China and the one from Germany have also founded the limousine ride service StarRides. A first joint car could be presented as early as 2021. Or else, when the most important restrictions of the Corona pandemic have been lifted.

That’s because Geely and Daimler have teamed up to develop a Smart-based SUV. The vehicle is expected to get an electric motor. It could be available for purchase in Germany from 2022. The Smart SUV is to be built by Geely in China. In Germany, the Geely electric cars would then be sold by Smart and Mercedes respectively.
Geely Germany
Surprisingly, but in keeping with the Smart plans, Geely announced in 2020 that the Chinese manufacturer would also have a subsidiary in Germany in the future. Geely has opened an office in Raunheim. Seventy people are employed at Geely Germany near Frankfurt am Main. The company is called Geely Auto Technical Germany (GATD).

A total of 300 people are expected to be employed at Geely Germany by 2023. However, there are no plans for a production site. Geely Raunheim is primarily to drive development work. The focus is on electric drives for premium vehicles. Like the Smart SUV.
Buy Geely in Germany?
Probably, the Smart SUV will be the first opportunity to buy a Geely car in Germany. Other models of the manufacturer will not be exported from the People’s Republic of China to Europe for the time being. At least not in the classic sense. However, Geely’s Lynk & Co. brand is available in Europe and is expected to come to Germany before the end of 2021.

This will be a subscription model. For around 500 euros a month, the electric car Geely SUV-01 can be rented. Including almost all additional costs. Those who can’t afford the subscription or don’t want to, can also become a member of the associated club without owning a Lynk car. Club members can then rent the car from subscribers for a fee, if they allow it. Volvo’s dealer network is expected to help with sales.
Cooperation between Geely and Baidu
Also an investment in the future is the cooperation between Geely and Baidu. The cooperation between the carmaker and Baidu came about in the spring of 2021. The company operates the eponymous search engine. Baidu is thus the market leader in the People’s Republic of China. Together with Geely, Baidu has founded the joint venture Jidu Auto. This is intended to conquer the market for electric cars. Geely and Baidu plan to invest a total of 7.7 billion dollars by 2026.

Up to 3,000 employees are to ensure that the first electric car is sold in 2024. With a robotic look, it is intended to win over younger customers in particular. After that, a new model is to be launched every 18 months. Geely is contributing its automotive expertise and partnerships. Baidu its experience in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.
All Geely News
Financial experts believe that both Geely and Baidu will benefit from the joint venture. Jidu Auto will help both companies combine their respective strengths. And it does so in a highly competitive market. That’s because with Xiaomi and Huawei, there are other companies looking to capture market share with billion-dollar investments and joint ventures. All Geely news and news about electric cars in China is provided by the editorial team of China.Table.