When the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced that the penetration rate of new energy vehicles would exceed 45% in 2024 (less than 30% three years ago), no one would have thought that behind this figure was the price of collective blood loss in the industry. The R&D black hole of the new energy transformation has caused more automakers to fall into a vicious circle of increasing revenue but not profits, and the price war has caused the net profit of more than 60% of automakers to fall below 3%.
In the fierce competition, Chinese automaker Geely once again delivered a report card that went against the trend. On March 20, Geely Auto Group released its full-year financial performance report for 2024. Thanks to the accelerated iteration of technology and the expansion of its popular model matrix, Geely Auto Group has set new highs in key performance indicators including revenue and sales, and its cash reserves remain abundant and stable.
According to the financial report, in 2024, Geely Auto's total revenue reached 240.2 billion yuan, a record high, a year-on-year increase of 34%; the net cash level increased by 40% to 39.8 billion yuan, a record high. The group's profitability has improved, and the net profit attributable to the parent company has increased significantly year-on-year. According to the financial report, Geely Auto achieved a net profit attributable to the parent company of 16.6 billion yuan for the whole year, a year-on-year increase of 213%; and achieved a net profit attributable to the parent company of 8.5 billion yuan after deducting non-recurring items, a year-on-year increase of 52%.
The revelation of Geely's financial report may not lie in the numbers themselves, but the strategic determination of Geely reflected behind them. When its peers were deeply mired in price wars, Geely took the initiative to make plans and issued the "Taizhou Declaration" at the key node of transformation, reconstructing the value coordinate system through technical collaboration and brand integration.
Revenue and sales hit new highs, and new energy achieved explosive growth
The record-breaking revenue is supported by strong sales. In 2024, Geely Auto Group's cumulative sales volume reached 2.177 million vehicles, a record high, a year-on-year increase of 32%, exceeding the annual sales target of 2 million vehicles, outperforming the market. As of February 2025, Geely Auto has achieved monthly sales of more than 200,000 vehicles for six consecutive months.
Geely has not only achieved growth in both oil and electricity, but has also made great strides in the field of new energy, ushering in explosive growth. Data shows that the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles under Geely Auto's three major brands exceeded 888,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 92%, setting a historical record. At the same time, its new energy penetration rate in the domestic market has exceeded 50% for five consecutive months, reaching 58.6% in December last year.
Specifically, Geely Galaxy's annual cumulative sales exceeded 490,000 units, an increase of 80% year-on-year, far higher than the industry average growth of 34.5%, and has entered a "strong growth cycle." Another brand, Zeekr, won the sales crown of China's pure electric luxury brands with an annual sales volume of over 222,000 units in 2024.
Seizing the opportunity, Geely Auto Group will usher in a big year for products in 2025. It is reported that Geely has set a sales target of 2.71 million vehicles for the whole year, including 1.5 million new energy vehicles; the Galaxy brand will strive for a million sales, while Zeekr and Lynk & Co will aim for 320,000 and 390,000 vehicles respectively.
Fully entered the strategic focus period, structural optimization and cost control promoted gross profit growth
In September last year, Geely released a new transformation program, the "Taizhou Declaration", which completely eliminated internal competition by merging brands such as Geometry and Galaxy, Zeekr and Lynk & Co., thereby forming a clearer brand matrix, namely "high-end luxury (Zeekr/Lynk & Co.) + boutique mainstream (Galaxy/Geely)", and achieving profit growth for both brands.
As the product structure continues to be optimized, the proportion of Geely's high-end models has increased. The average price of a Zeekr bike is nearly 300,000 yuan, and it has already established a firm foothold in the luxury high-end market. At the same time, driven by the scale effect, Geely continues to reduce costs and increase efficiency, driving a steady increase in gross profit. Financial report data shows that Geely Auto's average revenue per bike is 107,000 yuan per unit, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%. At the same time, Geely Auto's gross profit margin reached 15.9%, and the total gross profit increased significantly to 38.2 billion yuan.
In addition, the income Geely has obtained through technology licensing is also further increasing its profit. Geely will continue to strengthen its technological barriers and gradually move the intelligentization from the investment period to the harvest period. It is reported that Geely is the only car company in the world that has completed the full-domain AI intelligent layout. At present, Geely has applied AI to the entire domain of smart cars, including architecture, power, chassis, and cockpit. At the same time, Geely has also deeply integrated AI into the entire link of product research and development, production, after-sales service, etc., to achieve a full-scene intelligent experience.
Gui Shengyue, CEO and Executive Director of Geely Automobile Holdings Co., Ltd., pointed out at the performance meeting that Geely's intelligent driving came naturally with the early layout. As early as 2021, Geely released the "Intelligent Geely 2025" strategy, and established the Geely Star Smart Computing Center in 2022. The layout of mobile phones, satellites, etc. is all for the development of intelligent driving. At present, Geely has become the only car company in the world to complete the full-domain AI intelligent layout.
Geely's latest "Qianli Haohan" intelligent driving system will fully accelerate the implementation of Geely's AI+ intelligent driving strategy, and promote "intelligent driving equality" and "safety equality" while achieving the standardization of intelligent driving technology for all brands. Under Geely's intelligent driving strategy, all Geely brands will achieve generational leadership in computing power, architecture, performance, safety redundancy and other aspects by relying on the accelerated evolution of AI empowerment and the combination of software and hardware innovation.
Overseas exports hit a new high, and the globalization strategy accelerated
In recent years, with the involution of domestic competition, overseas markets have become an important growth point in the auto market. From capital export to technology export, Geely Auto's globalization path has become a model for Chinese auto exports. In 2024, Geely Auto's overseas exports hit a new high. Data shows that Geely Auto's cumulative export sales for the whole year reached 415,000 vehicles, an increase of more than 57% year-on-year, exceeding the annual export target of 380,000 vehicles.
Specifically, the Geely brand has deepened its layout in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America, Europe and other regions, launched 16 high-end flagship models in key markets such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Panama, and deployed 891 sales and service outlets in 81 countries, further expanding its brand influence.
Both Zeekr and Lynk & Co are global brands, and they have taken the high-end luxury markets in Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and other regions as the starting point for their overseas expansion. Among them, Zeekr has entered more than 40 countries and regions around the world. Since the right-hand drive version of Zeekr 009 was launched in Hong Kong, it has quickly become the light of top domestic products and has been the sales champion of MPV for many months; Lynk & Co's total overseas shipments have exceeded 80,000 units, and it has ranked first among Chinese brands with a single vehicle price of more than 40,000 euros in the European market for three consecutive years.
Looking ahead to 2025, the Geely brand will further enhance the coverage of overseas channel outlets and after-sales guarantee capabilities, and is expected to add more than 300 sales and service outlets. It is expected that by the end of the year, its global channel outlets will exceed 1,100.
Gan Jiayue, CEO of Geely Auto Group and executive director of Geely Automobile Holdings Co., Ltd., said at the performance meeting that in the future, Geely will continue to uphold the principles of "going out" for products, "going in" for supply chains, and "going up" for brand technical services, adhere to the "one country, one policy" approach, and adopt a multi-pronged approach in market expansion, product matrix, and overseas channel construction, striving to lead global competitors in international products and intelligent networking, and continuously enhance the competitiveness of Geely products and technologies in the global market.
at last
Standing at a new stage of strategic transformation, Geely has returned to its original intention. The strategic determination it has demonstrated is undoubtedly the best annotation for breaking the ineffective internal circulation of the industry. At yesterday's financial report meeting, the encouraged management did not hide their affirmation and confidence in Geely's future development.
As Geely's AI intelligent achievements are gradually implemented, "Smart Geely 2025" has entered its final year. Geely continues to advance its technological transformation process, and high-value technologies such as AI intelligence, intelligent driving, and smart cockpits are accelerating mass production.
As the saying goes, when the sand is washed away by the waves, the real gold will be revealed. In the process of reshaping value, Geely is getting closer than ever to its dream of "making the world full of Geely".
