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At a time when most carmakers are struggling to cope with the worst industry crisis experienced in living memory, the ambitions of Geely, China's largest private automotive company, are breathtaking The company is simultaneously developing six modern platforms an amazing number even for a global giant like Toyota and committed to launching nine new cars over the next 18 months and up to 42 new models by 2015. Its technical director Frank Zhao said Geely will have the capacity to produce 2 million cars a year by then.
Geely will be able to sell anything number of cars is another matter The company claims that its sales for the six months to the end of June reached 138,000, fueled in part by government tax breaks to stimulate demand for small cars made by China's indigenous manufacturers which implies an increase from the year of at least 52, nearly three times the rate at which the China Association of automobile manufacturers CAAM estimated that the market has increased in the same period, but the figures are confused JD Power Asia, an automotive market research firm, believes Geely sold more cars than that, but from a higher base, leaving her slightly less than the market Geely in its set itself uses different figures in different statements.
At the Shanghai Motor Show in April, no exhibitor had a greater position in the display were three new sub-brands Gleagle affordable saloons and small commercial vehicles, Emgrand sports cars and prestige and heritage of Shanghai Englon designs kissing more than 20 models and variants, including six who were all new Among them were scandalous concept Shanghai Englon GE, a mini-me of the Rolls-Royce Phantom with a single seat as the throne at the back; the Emgrand EX825, a blingy SUV launch is planned for next year; and Gleagle EK2, a small battery powered sedan is said to be close to production Also on the stand was Geely version of the black cab London, the product of a joint venture with Manganese Bronze Holdings, the British company which owns London Taxi International.
Geely seems to have no trouble financing its expansion under M. Zhao, a former head of Chrysler hired in 2006, Geely has not only increased the number of engineers it employs from 350 to 1200, but has set up an entire university , Zhejiang automotive engineering Institute, turning much He also bought assets abroad.
Yet there is a vague suspicion that Geely cars are not developed to the same standards as Western Geely's chairman and founder, Li Shufu, the Henry supposedly Ford China, has often boasted that his company would soon become a export champion for sale 1 3m cars abroad by 2015 for this purpose in 2005, the year after its IPO in Hong Kong, Geely exhibited its entire range of cars at the Frankfurt motor Show, followed with an appearance at Detroit in 2006 M. Li spoke on the European market in 2007 and breaking of North America by 2008, but even now those who remain quite distant goals.
M. Li's world conquest plans were badly dented when a Russian car magazine crash tested a Geely CK parlor 64kph to 40 mph The driver and the passenger had a chance of survival only 10 Geely sold about 30,000 units outside China last year and assembles cars from kits in Russia, Ukraine and Indonesia It also plans to build factories in South Africa and Mexico M. Zhao think Geely cars can go now stringent emissions and safety standards of the rich world the problem, he argues, is more to do with the reputation as the latest company products.
There are also persistent rumors that Geely is negotiating to buy a European car company in the last few weeks, Geely said to have a look at the Swedish unit of GM, Saab, but nothing came now, Geely is supposed to prepare to buy Volvo, held a much larger Saab, Ford But Ford would be a very careful seller, fearing that Geely could run away with too valuable intellectual property is, after all, a pressed automaker.
The ambition of the Economist Geely, ambition, geely.