Geely's British Gamble

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

With the ambition of becoming a "global automotive enterprise," Geely has launched a new offensive in London.

Recently, the Geely International EX5 was officially launched in London. This is a key step in Geely's evolution of its European strategy and a crucial part of Geely's globalization as a Chinese automotive company.

In the past, Geely built a vast automotive business empire by investing in and acquiring brands, including Volvo, learning from multiple dimensions such as technology and channels. Now, Geely has chosen to push its core brand, honed through the brutal "involution" of the Chinese market, to the forefront, engaging in direct street battles with giants like Volkswagen and Hyundai in the birthplace of the automotive industry.

The star of this launch is the Geely International EX5. As a pure electric SUV that has been launched and validated in 33 countries worldwide, this model has already achieved "segment market sales number one" in mature markets such as Brazil and Greece.

A senior executive from Geely Auto revealed to Wall Street Insight that there was a long period of research within Geely Auto regarding which brand and model to use as the debut model in the UK. "We did consider using brands like Lynk & Co, but after research, we found that the British have a higher recognition of Chinese brand pure electric vehicles, so we ultimately chose the Geely EX5 as the debut model."

The starting price of the Geely International EX5 in the UK is £31,990 (approximately RMB 303,400), which is three times that of the domestic model (domestically known as the Galaxy E5). Compared to models like BYD ATTO3 and Tesla Model 3, this pricing is quite competitive.

The launch of this car is just the beginning; Geely also plans to introduce models including the EX5 PHEV to the UK. Its goal is to achieve annual sales of over 100,000 vehicles in the UK by 2030.

This is an ambitious target. According to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), new car sales in the UK have seen two consecutive years of growth, with 1.9 million and 1.9528 million vehicles projected for 2023 and 2024, respectively. This growth trend continues, with approximately 1.5782 million new vehicle registrations accumulated by the end of September 2025.

Other statistics show that the market share of the top five brands in the UK only accounts for about 32% of the market (with Ford and Audi ranking fourth and fifth at 5.8% and 5.4%, respectively). If Geely can achieve its sales target by 2030, it is expected to rank among the top five in the UK market.

To realize this plan, Geely has also launched a hundred-store initiative. Currently, Geely has established 25 sales outlets in the UK and plans to increase this number to 40 by the end of 2025, and to establish 100 sales and service outlets across the UK by the end of 2026 for full coverage.

Geely Auto CEO Gan Jiayue stated that the UK market is the core support point of Geely's European strategy. Geely plans to rapidly introduce multiple new electric models and has formulated a massive European "five-year plan"—to launch 15 new models in Europe within the next five years and build a network of over 1,000 dealerships and service centers For any Chinese car company, Europe has become a battleground for them to become global enterprises. As the Chinese market turns into a "red ocean," any ambitious car company must seek new, high-profit growth poles.

On one hand, finding new growth poles in a market like Europe allows them to completely break free from excessive reliance on the fiercely competitive single market in China; on the other hand, the average selling price (ASP) and per-vehicle profit in the European market are much higher than in the domestic market.

A CFO of a private car company once revealed to Wall Street News that the per-vehicle profit for models sold overseas can be about three times that of the domestic market. More importantly, establishing a foothold in overseas markets also helps enhance the brand image of Chinese car companies, providing support for achieving price-to-earnings (P/E) valuations comparable to international first-tier car companies.

Gan Jiayue revealed that the Lynk & Co brand has established a customer base in Europe through a "subscription model." Next, Geely aims to quickly open up the retail sector by leveraging the resources of some established dealers. Models like Xingyuan and Xingjian 7 will also gradually enter the European market.

For Geely, landing in London is just the starting point; the real competition is in the second half.

Geely not only has to face the counterattacks from local giants like Volkswagen and Renault but also get caught up in the "Chinese army's" internal conflict in Europe. BYD's vertical integration capabilities and SAIC's MG's first-mover advantage are challenges that Geely must confront. The "traditional dealer cooperation model" chosen by Geely is a more pragmatic and "light" strategy aimed at quickly expanding its network and reducing initial capital consumption.

Moreover, from Geely's perspective, it is not starting from scratch in Europe; its advantage comes from years of investment and research and development layout in the UK. Its vast "invisible empire"—from investments in LEVC, assisting Lotus in its transformation, to a research and development layout across Europe (including a design center in Coventry, UK, and the Central European R&D center CEVT)—has already paved the way for it.

As we can see, with international trade entering a new era, the age of pure product exports has ended. How to deeply embed research and development, manufacturing, supply chains, and even branding into target markets is a challenge that all companies need to solve on their journey abroad in this new era.

Whether Chinese car companies can succeed in the future also depends on how deeply they localize. Gan Jiayue stated that in the future, Geely's supply chain and talent resources will also be localized, rooting itself locally through comprehensive cooperation.

The launch of the EX5 in London is less about a product debut and more about a review of systemic strength. Geely is attempting to prove to the European market that it is not an outsider; it has long been present.

The real test in Europe has begun. This is no longer a question of whether Chinese car companies can go abroad, but whether they can survive and thrive in the most competitive and highest barrier mature markets. Geely's gamble is also a brutal battle that the Chinese automotive industry must win on the global battlefield.

Risk Warning and Disclaimer

The market has risks, and investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment goals, financial conditions, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article align with their specific circumstances. Investing based on this is at one's own risk