Geely lifts export target 44% after record first-half profit

Geely Automobile Holdings has lifted its 2026 export target by 44% to 920,000 vehicles after posting record first-half revenue of RMB 173.6 billion, roughly A$36 billion, up 15% year on year.

Core profit attributable to owners of the parent rose 46% to RMB 9.68 billion, about A$2 billion, outpacing revenue growth. Gross margin lifted to 17.9% and core profit per vehicle rose 45% to RMB 6,806, about A$1,400 at current rates.

The Hong Kong-listed group sold 1,422,958 vehicles globally in the six months to 30 June, including 474,228 outside China. That export figure was up 158% and exceeded the 420,000 units Geely shipped across the whole of 2025. Monthly exports passed 100,000 units in both June and July.

The revised target replaces guidance of 640,000 units, with the company saying it is now working towards close to one million for the year. Its funding reserve stood at RMB 69.56 billion at 30 June, near a record.

What it means for the Australian market

Australia is one of 114 overseas markets in a network of more than 2,000 international retail and service points, and it is one of the newer ones. Geely Auto Australia launched in March 2025, passed 10,000 deliveries inside 14 months and runs a network of more than 60 outlets under managing director Alex Gu.

Group brands are carrying real local volume. Geely sold 4,504 vehicles in Australia in August to finish ninth in the VFACTS brand table, against 401 a year earlier, while Zeekr added 2,120 against 88. That is 6,624 units for the month across the listed group’s Australian brands, with year-to-date totals of 19,159 and 10,070 respectively.

Three Geely models sat inside the August top 25: the EX5 on 1,947, the EX2 on 1,279 and the Starray EM-i on 1,278, with the Zeekr 7X on 1,748. Zeekr came into the listed group last year and accounted for around 12.5% of global volume in the half on more than 178,000 sales.

The margin numbers matter more to Australian dealers than the volume ones. A 45% lift in profit per vehicle at group level, against a near-record cash position, gives Geely room to keep pricing hard in export markets while it buys share. China supplied 35.7% of the Australian market in August, ahead of Japan on 24.7%.

Hybrids from 2027

Geely plans to take its i-HEV petrol-electric technology into international markets from 2027, after targeting monthly sales above 30,000 i-HEV units in China by the end of this year. That would add a third powertrain to an Australian line-up currently limited to battery electric and plug-in hybrid, in a market where conventional hybrids are the main compliance lever under NVES.

Second-half product includes the Geely TT, a C-segment electric sedan, and the Zhanjian 700 off-roader. Neither has been announced for Australia. The Zeekr 9X is slated for additional overseas markets.

Research and development spending rose 8% to RMB 9.06 billion, although the ratio to revenue fell 0.3 percentage points to 5.2%. Geely is running its international expansion through partnerships with Volvo Cars, Proton, Renault Group and Ford across manufacturing, R&D and supply chain, and has merged its Swedish and German engineering teams to close the gap between Chinese and export-market launch timing.