Geely Closes In on Its All-Time Sales Record as Exports Do the Heavy Lifting

Geely Auto is knocking on the door of its own record. The Hangzhou-based group moved 310,183 vehicles in October, a hair under the 310,428 units it logged the same month a year earlier — a gap of just 245 cars.

That makes October the third straight month the company has set a new high for the year. And it tops September’s 292,168 by a little over 6%.

What softens the headline is the split between home and abroad. Year-on-year growth came in at just 0.99%, a sharp slowdown from the 6.97% booked in September, because the domestic market is still contracting hard.

Exports Are Doing the Work

Overseas shipments hit 107,153 units, up almost 158% on October 2024 and 0.44% above September. They accounted for roughly 35% of total volume, down slightly from September’s 37%.

With two months still to run, Geely has already reached 98% of its full-year export target of 920,000 vehicles. Barring a shock, that goal is effectively banked.

The picture inside China is less comfortable. Domestic deliveries fell 23.55% year-on-year to 203,030, a deeper slide than September’s 20.21% drop. Sequentially, though, home sales climbed 9.46% — their strongest month since January.

October in numbers: 310,183 total sales · 107,153 exports (+157.78% YoY) · 203,030 domestic (-23.55% YoY) · 214,996 NEVs (69% of mix)

New Energy Breaks New Ground

Geely’s electrified line-up cleared the 200,000 mark for the first time. NEV sales rose 20.86% year-on-year and 12.64% month-on-month to 214,996 units, equal to a record 69% of the group’s total volume.

Battery-electric cars did most of the lifting: BEV volume jumped 43% to 140,758. Plug-in hybrids went the other way, slipping 6.66% to 74,238 — a reversal from September, when PHEV numbers were broadly flat.

Brand by brand, the picture varies widely:

• Geely brand (incl. Galaxy): 255,742 units, up 4.17% year-on-year and 8.15% sequentially
• Galaxy: a record 153,385, up 20.32% year-on-year, passing 150,000 for the first time; year-to-date volume reached 1,030,569
• Zeekr: 32,483, up 51.63% year-on-year, but down 12.72% on September — its first monthly decline since January and an end to nine months of near- or above-100% growth
• Lynk & Co: 21,958, down 45.40% year-on-year — its steepest drop of the year and seventh consecutive month of contraction, though 18.74% higher than September

The Domestic Problem Doesn’t Fix Itself

Geely’s story for the past year has been a simple one: exports run hot, China runs cold. October confirmed the pattern rather than breaking it.

Running the first 10 months together, the group has sold 2,545,664 vehicles, up 2.76% year-on-year. Growth is real, but thin — and it rests almost entirely on overseas demand at a time when the home market is still shrinking at a double-digit clip.

On the record chase, the numbers are tantalising. Last November’s 310,428 is the only figure standing between Geely and a new all-time monthly best. If exports hold above 100,000 and the Galaxy ramp continues, that 245-car gap looks very bridgeable.