Geely Auto (00175.HK)’s revenue reached 240.2 billion yuan in 2024, marking a new record high and rising 34% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to the parent company reached 16.6 billion yuan, up 213%.
The net profit attributable to the parent company after excluding non-recurring items was 8.5 billion yuan, a 52% year-on-year increase, reflecting significant improvement in operational profitability.
Thanks to the scale effect and a significant enhancement in the competitiveness of core products, Geely Auto’s gross profit increased substantially to 38.2 billion yuan, with a gross profit margin of 15.9%. In terms of cash reserves, the company’s net cash level increased by 40% to 39.8 billion yuan, setting a new historical high.
Geely’s subsidiary, Zeekr (NYSE: ZK), achieved 75.91 billion yuan in revenue in 2024, a 46.9% year-on-year increase. The annual net loss was 5.79 billion yuan, narrowing by 29.9% compared to the previous year.
During the earnings conference call, Geely Auto’s CEO and Executive Director Gui Shengyue highlighted three key aspects of 2024’s performance: first, new energy vehicle (NEV) sales accounted for nearly 50%, with sales increasing to become China’s second-largest, setting a new record; second, starting in the second half of 2024, the NEV segment began to achieve overall profitability, marking an initial success in the new energy transformation; and third, whether it’s the high-end luxury Zeekr, the fully accessible Lynk & Co, or the mass-market Galaxy and China Star series, all have profitability and are in line with the development pace of China’s automotive industry.
Gui stated that 2024 was a year of great significance for Geely Auto, boosting confidence. With the continuous improvement of the product matrix, Geely has the capability to catch up, surpass, and face even greater challenges. He believes 2025 is expected to be the turning point year for Geely Auto to fully reverse its downturn and return to the fast track of development.
New Energy Vehicle Sales Hit New High, Targeting 1.5 Million Units This Year
Gui said that Geely’s “new energy transformation has achieved initial success.”
The company’s sales reached 2.177 million units last year, a 32% year-on-year increase, exceeding the annual sales target of 2 million units.
On the international front, Geely’s exports set a new record, with total export sales of 415,000 units, a year-on-year increase of over 57%, surpassing the annual export target of 380,000 units.
Geely CEO Gan Jiayue said that in 2025, Geely will accelerate its global strategy and strengthen its deployment in key markets, aiming to become the top Chinese brand in the Middle East and the top three Chinese brands in the Pan-European and Eastern European markets, building a second market of 100,000 units in the Asia-Pacific region, and focusing on NEV and fuel vehicle models in Latin America and Africa.
For the European market, Geely will fully leverage the resources of Lynk & Co, Zeekr, and Volvo to accelerate synergies, he said.
Despite the price war in 2024, Geely’s per-vehicle revenue increased, rising 2.5% year-on-year to 107,000 yuan.
Outstanding Performance at the Start of 2025
At the start of 2025, Geely showed strong performance. By February 2025, Geely Auto had achieved six consecutive months of sales exceeding 200,000 units per month.
In terms of new products, the Galaxy brand will launch five new NEV models; in the fourth quarter, the Galaxy will introduce the fifth-generation ultra-hybrid products that are flexible in using alcohol, electricity, and fuel. Zeekr and Lynk & Co will launch 3 and 2 new models, respectively, with four of them being hybrid models. Among them, the Zeekr 007GT will be launched in the second quarter, the super hybrid Zeekr 9X and the large SUV will be launched in the third and fourth quarters, respectively; Lynk & Co will launch the Lynk & Co 900 in the second quarter, which will feature the NVIDIA Thor chip and its self-developed intelligent driving system. In the second half of the year, a plug-in hybrid mid-to-large sedan will also be launched.
Looking ahead to 2025, the management said that the company will launch 10 new NEV products, marking a “big product year.” The group’s sales target for the year is 2.71 million units, with 1.5 million units targeted for NEVs. The Galaxy brand is targeting 1 million units in sales, while Zeekr and Lynk & Co aim for 320,000 and 390,000 units, respectively.
Gui Shengyue: Car Companies Without Profitability Will Be Eliminated in 2-3 Years
From this year’s competitive landscape, “intelligent driving” is no longer just a selling point for new players but has become the focal point of the mainstream automotive market.
Geely’s management emphasized several times during the earnings call that Geely’s intelligent driving is built on safety.
Gui Shengyue pointed out that Geely’s intelligent driving has naturally developed with early-stage investments. As early as 2021, Geely released the “Smart Geely 2025” strategy, and in 2022, Geely established the Xingrui Intelligent Computing Center. The company has made investments in mobile phones, satellites, and other fields to develop intelligent driving. Currently, Geely is the only automaker globally to complete an AI-driven full-domain intelligence layout.
He said, “Without high computing power, big data, and large models, intelligent driving in cars would just be an empty dream. Intelligent driving must be built on a foundation of safety. Geely will never create an intelligent driving solution and treat consumers as test subjects.”
Geely also emphasized the enormous value that internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles will bring to the company in the competitive market in the coming years.
Gui Shengyue believes that in 2-3 years, the competitive landscape will be very different from today. Companies that do not make profits will inevitably be eliminated. In 2-3 years, China will certainly achieve equality between fuel and electric vehicles, and the way capital markets value Chinese automakers will change.
He bluntly said, “If a car company doesn’t have fuel vehicles, it will be seen as a flaw in the company. In this context, companies with fuel vehicles will be more valuable than those without fuel vehicles.”
He emphasized that Geely will not abandon fuel vehicles, and developing strong fuel vehicles is an important part of Geely Auto’s stable development. “As you know, we are currently number one in China in fuel vehicles, and there is no competitor in the short term that can shake our position. But this is not enough; we believe that in the long run, fuel vehicles will still have a place in the automotive industry.”
