Selling Abroad and Selling Up: Geely Auto and Zeekr in 2025-2026

Summary

Geely Automobile, the Hong Kong-listed carmaker that owns the Geely, Lynk & Co and Zeekr brands, sold 3.02 million cars in 2025, 39% more than in 2024, and its revenue rose 25% to RMB345 billion. In December 2025 it bought out the minority shareholders of Zeekr, its luxury electric brand, and took it off the New York Stock Exchange. In the first half of 2026, when car sales inside China fell 24%, Geely kept its total sales flat by selling abroad: exports grew 158% and Zeekr's sales 97%. Revenue rose 15% and core profit 46%, although reported profit fell 2%.

Key findings

1. Geely sold 3.02 million cars in 2025, up 39%, and revenue rose 25%, to RMB345 billion. Reported profit was flat at RMB16.9 billion, while core profit rose 36%.
2. In December 2025 Geely bought the rest of Zeekr for about RMB5.3 billion in cash and 777 million new Geely shares.
3. In the first half of 2026 exports grew 158% and Zeekr sales 97%, while car sales inside China fell 24%.
4. After nine months of 2026 Geely had sold 2.24 million cars. To reach its target of 3.45 million it needs about 405,000 a month in the last quarter.

A record year with flat profit

Geely makes cars under three brands: Geely, whose electric and hybrid line is called Galaxy; Lynk & Co in the middle of the market; and Zeekr at the top. In 2025 Galaxy sales rose 150%, to 1.24 million, and electric and plug-in hybrid cars made up 56% of all sales. Sales in China grew 48%, but exports grew only 1%, to 420,097 cars.

Reported profit attributable to shareholders was almost unchanged, RMB16.85 billion against RMB16.81 billion. The 2024 figure was lifted by a one-off gain of RMB9.35 billion on disposals. Without such items, the company's core profit rose 36%, to RMB14.41 billion. The gross margin stayed close to 16.6%, which the company links to fierce price competition in China. The dividend rose from HK$0.33 to HK$0.50 a share.

Why Geely bought out Zeekr

Zeekr's shares traded in New York, while Geely kept a majority stake. In May 2025 Geely proposed to buy the remaining shares, and the deal closed on 22 December 2025. Zeekr shareholders could take US$2.687 in cash or 1.23 Geely shares for each Zeekr share. In the end Geely issued 777 million new shares and paid about RMB5.3 billion in cash, and Zeekr left the New York Stock Exchange.

Geely explains the deal by its "One Geely" plan: to stop its brands competing for the same buyers and to stop paying twice for the same factories and research. Before the deal Zeekr had also taken over Lynk & Co. One sign of the change is in the balance sheet: the equity held by outside shareholders in Geely's subsidiaries fell from RMB7.5 billion to RMB1.2 billion in 2025.

Zeekr sold 224,133 cars in 2025, only 1% more than in 2024. In the first half of 2026 its sales rose 97%, to 178,370, helped by the Zeekr 9X, a large SUV priced above RMB500,000 that sold more than 46,000 units. Lynk & Co went the other way: its sales fell 19% in the first nine months of 2026.

Unaudited monthly figures. Source: September 2026 sales.

2026: a smaller home market, more exports

Sales of passenger cars inside China fell 24% in the first half of 2026, according to figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers quoted in Geely's report. Geely's total sales still rose 1%, to 1.42 million, because exports grew 158%, to 474,228 cars. More than half of the exported cars were electric or plug-in hybrid.

The mix also became more expensive. The average price of a Geely car rose by RMB15,000, to RMB112,000, so revenue grew 15%, to RMB173.6 billion, and the gross margin rose from 16.3% to 17.9%. Reported profit fell 2%, to RMB9.09 billion, because a foreign exchange gain of RMB2.64 billion in the first half of 2025 turned into a loss of RMB550 million. Core profit rose 46%, to RMB9.68 billion.

Profit is attributable to owners of the parent. Sources: Geely, Annual Report 2025; Interim Report 2026.

Geely in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan appears twice in Geely's 2025 annual report. Geely makes cars with local partners at 12 plants outside China, and in 2025 the plant in Kazakhstan began producing both electric and petrol cars on two lines. Zeekr, which has 152 stores in about 50 countries outside mainland China, says it was among the top three luxury electric car brands in Kazakhstan. The report gives no sales figures for Kazakhstan itself.

Risks

1. The 2026 target of 3.45 million cars needs about 1.21 million sales in October to December, around 405,000 a month. In September Geely sold 292,168.
2. The car market in China is shrinking and price competition remains fierce, which limits margins.
3. Growth now depends on exports, which face trade barriers and currency swings. A foreign exchange gain of RMB2.64 billion in the first half of 2025 became a loss of RMB550 million a year later.
4. Lynk & Co's sales are falling, so the "One Geely" plan still has to prove that the three brands can grow together.

My view

Of all the companies I have looked at, Geely's last year seems the most encouraging to me. When car sales in China fell, the company did not wait for the market to recover. It sold more abroad and moved to more expensive cars, and its core profit grew. Buying out Zeekr also makes sense: one company with shared factories and engineers is cheaper to run than several brands that compete with each other. For Kazakhstan, Geely is the kind of Chinese investment I would like to see more of, because it builds cars here instead of only shipping them in. My two concerns are the target of 3.45 million cars for 2026, which looks too high after nine months, and Lynk & Co, whose sales keep falling.

This note is independent research for information and learning. It is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

Notes and method

• All figures come from Geely Automobile Holdings' own reports, listed under Sources. Money is in Chinese yuan (RMB). Revenue for 2023 and 2024 is as restated in the 2025 annual report.
• "Core profit" is the company's own measure. It removes foreign exchange gains and losses, impairment of non-financial assets and one-off gains on disposals. In 2024 reported profit included a gain of RMB9.35 billion on disposals.
• Sales volumes for January to September are unaudited monthly figures. Zeekr no longer publishes its own accounts after leaving the New York Stock Exchange, so its sales volume is the only Zeekr figure available.
• Percentage changes and the sales needed to meet the 2026 target are calculated by the author.

Sources

1. Geely Automobile Holdings, Annual Report 2025 (April 2026)
2. Geely Automobile Holdings, Interim Report 2026 (August 2026)
3. Geely Automobile Holdings, press release on the 2025 annual results (18 March 2026)
4. Geely Automobile Holdings, Unaudited sales volume in September 2026 (1 October 2026)

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