Geely Auto has unveiled an ambitious goal to become China’s top-selling automotive brand by 2026, following record-breaking financial results for 2025.

The announcement came during the company’s annual financial report presentation on March 18, 2026, where executives revealed their strategy to challenge the current market leader BYD through both domestic growth and aggressive international expansion.

“We’re aiming for domestic sales in 2026 to reach number one in China,” a senior Geely executive stated during the financial briefing. This would require Geely to surpass BYD’s 2025 domestic sales figure of approximately 3.55 million vehicles.

The company has officially set a 2026 sales target of 3.45 million vehicles globally, but internal targets are reportedly higher, with domestic performance being the priority focus. Last year, Geely adjusted its annual sales target from the initial 2.71 million to 3 million units and successfully hit that goal.

Geely reported total revenue of 345.2 billion yuan (50 billion USD) for 2025, a 25% year-on-year increase. Core net profit attributable to shareholders reached 14.41 billion yuan (2.09 billion USD), representing a 36% growth compared to 2024. The company’s cash reserves stood at a robust 68.2 billion yuan (9.88 billion USD) by the end of 2025, up 46% from the previous year.

The performance has been significantly boosted by Geely’s premium strategy, particularly through its Zeekr brand. The Zeekr 9X model, with its reported 40% profit margin, has become a standout performer, helping elevate the company’s gross margin to 16.9% in Q4 2025, exceeding the full-year margin of 16.6%.

“After two days of pre-sales, the newly launched Zeekr 8X has already secured over 30,000 orders,” revealed a Geely executive, suggesting the company’s premium product strategy continues to resonate with Chinese consumers.

Geely’s international ambitions are equally bold. While the official overseas sales target for 2026 is 640,000 units, internal goals reportedly aim for 750,000 vehicles. To achieve this, the company plans to expand its international dealer network to over 1,300 locations and leverage synergies with brands under the wider Geely Holding Group, including Volvo, Lotus, and Smart.

The automaker plans to introduce successful models like the Galaxy E5 and Starship 7 to global markets, while also accelerating the European rollout of Lynk & Co models 08, 01, and Z20 by utilising Volvo’s established resources. The Zeekr 7X is scheduled to launch in South Korea during the first half of 2026.

As part of its customer service enhancement strategy, Geely’s Haohang Energy subsidiary aims to deploy over 50,000 megawatt fast-charging stations in the next five years, with upcoming refreshed models like the Zeekr 001 supporting peak charging powers of up to 1500kW.

Editor’s comment

Here, “Geely” refers to Geely Auto, not its parent company Geely Holding, which encompasses brands like Volvo, Lotus, and Proton, in addition to Geely Auto.

BYD’s sales target for this year is reportedly 5 million vehicles. However, a significant portion of BYD’s cars are exported, in February, its export volume even surpassed its domestic sales. If half of its vehicles are exported this year, it’s not impossible for Geely Auto to overtake BYD in the Chinese market.

If all vehicles under Geely Holding were counted, then Geely would certainly surpass BYD in the Chinese market. In fact, Geely Holding’s total sales last year were only about 10% shy of BYD’s.

Nevertheless, BYD only sells new energy vehicles, while Geely is still selling internal combustion engine cars, and its gas-powered models are performing quite well. This February, Geely’s gas-powered model Starray (Boyue L) was the best-selling ICE SUV in China, trailing only the Tesla Model Y and the Xiaomi YU7.