Chinese carmaker Geely is aiming to become the largest exporter in China
Zhejiang Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd has announced plans to become China's largest auto exporter in as little as two years by driving sales in developing countries. The Chinese automaker plans to build factories in Belarus and Uruguay this year, in an effort to “lay foundations” for their expansion into more mature economies, according to Geely CEO Gui Shengyue.
Geely's plans are certainly ambitious considering they are currently only the nation's ninth largest exporter, and they would have to quadruple overseas sales if they are to beat rival Chery's 158,900 units. Yale Zhang, MD at Autoforesight Shanghai Co, anticipates that while sales in smaller emerging markets may increase their global presence, they would probably “not contribute very much volume.”
The carmaker has also been making forays into more developed markets, like the UK. Although traditionally Chinese car sales have lagged as a result of poor safety standards, the new Geely Emgrand 7 received four out of five stars in Euro NCAP tests. The new model will sell for £10,000 (CNY 100,300) and will be used to gauge the potential of the European market as a whole.
Chinese carmakers are continuing to look overseas for greater sales as domestic demand continues to wane. According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC the country's top economic planner, Chinese factories could be churning out as many as 40 million cars by 2015, far outstripping domestic demand of 27 million by about 13 million vehicles.