This Chinese car is truly a global brand

Geely, China’s home-grown car brand, is now looking beyond its borders. In the automotive world, those companies with ambition can rapidly establish themselves on the global stage. Indeed, Geely is now following the footsteps of its American, Japanese and the Korean counterparts.

A decade ago, if you drive a Chinese branded vehicle, they look and felt like copies of older Japanese, German or American vehicles. Not only were such vehicles viewed as illegal counterfeits of foreign models, their quality and safety were questionable. However, over the last few years, the quality of Chinese branded vehicles has gotten dramatically better thanks in part to knowledge acquired from joint ventures between global automakers, if not through securing global brands and technology from struggling Western rivals hit by a stalling market.

As a result, more Chinese companies gained a larger presence of the world stage as they move into global markets. “Several years ago, we were challenged by the question, how could Geely overcome the lack of brand name and the negative country-of-origin quality image that Chinese manufacturers have?,” related Alex Nan, GM of Geely Automobile International Corp.

Nan assured that with 30 new dealerships set to open in various parts of the Philippines, Geely guarantees the outstanding sales and aftersales, as well as ample parts supply and skilled technicians for Geely buyers.

What helped Geely lay a foundation for building a global corporate culture was its 2010 acquisition of Volvo from Ford Motor Co. Changes were dramatic as the company quickly transitioned from a regional manufacturer focused on the domestic Chinese market, to an international player.

From several more acquisitions that happened afterward—bought 51 percent of Lotus from Malaysian automaker Proton in 2017, as well as the $9 billion purchase of a stake in Germany’s Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz parent company) in 2018—Geely is now in a class of its own among Chinese auto makers as it is able to tap directly into advanced auto technologies.

Harvest synergies

“We seek to harvest synergies from these investments,” added Nan who added that Geely’s parent company has acquired automotive brands such as Lotus Cars, Proton Cars, and London Taxi in recent years.

One best example of this synergy is British designer Peter Horbury, Volvo’s former styling boss, who has been leading Geely’s design department since 2012, and was among those who shook things up when he initiated the redesign of the entire Geely line.

“Geely combines internally developed talent with talent brought in from elsewhere in the international automotive sector, to form a diverse pool of skills and abilities. Right now, I am joined by Mikihisa Takayama of Soljitz who is a Japanese; Guy Burgoyne, GM and VP of Geely Design China, who is a British but with an Australian accent and is based in Sweden; and Dr. Hakan Sandquist, director of Strategy and Concepts at Geely Powertrain Research Institute Europe who is Swedish,” said Nan.

Nan added that these days, as companies started to depend on consumer markets, supply chains, and innovations from multiple countries, the auto industry has gone international in scope. “It is thus an industry in which companies with ambition can rapidly establish themselves on the global stage. Geely has done exactly that over the last 10 years, using the momentum of the Chinese market to turn Geely into a worldwide, customer-oriented car manufacturer.”

Nan said he is guided by their company’s president and CEO, An Conghui, who said, Geely as a brand is committed to its brand mission of “Making Refined Cars for Everyone,” and that has led the company to become China’s leading privately-owned automotive brand. “But for Conghui, Geely’s vision for its future is not just to be China’s leading brand, but to become the most competitive and respected Chinese auto brand in the world.”

Indeed for a company that started as a refrigerator maker and didn’t build its first car until the late 1990s, Geely is moving much faster than the rest of the Chinese automakers, going up in market value fast, and rapidly narrowing the quality gap with international brands.