Geely To Cut Excess Capacity As It Steps Up Global Expansion Push

Geely Auto, which is locked in a fierce battle for dominance against BYD in China’s crowded automotive market, has pledged to purge excess capacity through an asset restructuring while ramping up its go-global drive with an eye on greater international competitiveness.

Chairman Li Shufu said during the Chongqing Auto Show on Friday that the Hong Kong-listed carmaker would assess the oversupply of capacity across all units to determine whether to close, suspend, merge or sell redundant production facilities.

“Geely Auto is determined in its resolve to achieve sound corporate development by concentrating our superior resources on a vertically integrated automotive group,” he said in a video clip posted online. “By doing so, we will transform Geely into a strong and large carmaker with advantages in systemic development, corporate governance and global competitiveness.”

While Geely’s billionaire founder did not reveal specifics, such as the number of plants or the scale of excess capacity that could be disposed of amid the asset revamp, the move signals a strategic pivot for the Hangzhou-based manufacturer.

Geely operates a diverse stable of brands, including Zeekr, Lynk & Co, and Galaxy.

The company, which sells both petrol and electric vehicles (EVs), unseated EV assembler BYD as mainland China’s largest carmaker in the first quarter of this year, only to be eclipsed by the domestic rival in April and May as a global energy crisis spurred demand for fully electric vehicles.

Data concerning Geely’s existing capacity utilisation is not publicly available.

Geely Auto’s net income for 2025 rose 1.7 per cent from a year earlier to 16.6 billion yuan (US$2.45 billion). Revenue jumped 25 per cent to 345.2 billion yuan, and deliveries jumped 39 per cent to 3.02 million units.

The company’s H-shares have advanced 10.1 per cent this year, closing at HK$19.15 on Friday. Li also indicated at the auto event that he had been mulling a new growth strategy for Geely Auto and vowed to map out a formal succession plan, without elaborating.

Geely Auto’s parent company, Zhejiang-based Geely Holding Group, also owns Volvo Cars and holds a stake in Mercedes-Benz Group.

Betting on its technological prowess in EVs, Geely has quickened the pace of its international expansion over the past two years, with plans to utilise space vacated by international marques to buildits cars.