Who Owns Geely Cars?

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group was founded in 1986 by Li Shufu in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, initially manufacturing refrigerator components. The company transitioned to motorcycle production in 1994, gaining manufacturing experience and capital that would support the pivot to automobiles. In 1997, Geely entered the automotive industry, becoming China's first privately owned car manufacturer at a time when the Chinese automotive sector was dominated by state-owned enterprises and joint ventures with foreign automakers.

Geely's first automobile, the Haoqing sedan, rolled off the production line in 1998. The early Geely vehicles were inexpensive, basic transportation products aimed at Chinese consumers who could not afford the joint-venture vehicles produced by Volkswagen, General Motors, and other foreign brands in partnership with Chinese state enterprises. The cars were criticized for quality issues but succeeded in establishing Geely as a viable domestic automaker in a market that was experiencing rapid growth as Chinese incomes rose.

Throughout the early 2000s, Geely expanded its model range and production capacity, establishing manufacturing plants in multiple Chinese provinces. The company listed Geely Automobile Holdings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004, providing access to international capital markets that funded continued expansion. Geely also began exporting vehicles to developing markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, establishing an international presence before attempting to enter more demanding Western markets.

The most transformative event in Geely's history was the acquisition of Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Company in August 2010 for $1.8 billion. The acquisition was widely viewed with skepticism at the time, as Volvo was a struggling premium brand that had lost money under Ford's ownership, and Geely was a relatively small Chinese automaker with limited international experience. Li Shufu's strategy proved prescient: Geely invested heavily in Volvo's product development, manufacturing, and technology, while giving the Swedish brand operational independence. Volvo Cars returned to profitability and grew significantly under Geely's ownership, eventually completing its own IPO on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange in October 2021.

The Volvo acquisition also provided Geely with access to advanced automotive technology, safety engineering expertise, and global supply chain relationships that elevated the core Geely brand's engineering capabilities. Geely developed the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform jointly with Volvo, which underpins vehicles across both brands and the Lynk & Co brand. The BMA (B-segment Modular Architecture) and SMA (Scalable Modular Architecture, introduced in 2025) platforms further expanded Geely's modular vehicle development capabilities.

Geely's subsequent acquisitions expanded the group's portfolio significantly: a 49.9 percent stake in Malaysia's Proton in 2017 (along with a 51 percent stake in Lotus Cars), a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz to revive the Smart brand as an electric vehicle brand in 2019, and the establishment of Zeekr as a premium electric vehicle brand in 2021. Zeekr completed its own IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2024, raising approximately $441 million. In 2025, Geely Holding reported aggregate sales of 4,116,321 vehicles across all its brands, a 26 percent year-over-year increase and the first time the group exceeded 4 million annual units.