Geely reports sales growth

Geely's luxury Emgrand brand, which was launched on local soil in the middle of this year and received a warm welcome by the local motoring media and car buying public, enjoyed strong demand - especially for the EC7 compact sedan, which is now available in South Africa. October sales in the Chinese domestic market surged 36 % year-on-year to 20,275 units.

"The EC7 has been extremely well accepted in South Africa, and sales of our latest product offering are expanding," said Geely South Africa Marketing Manager, Gareth Azzie.

Back in China, combined sales of Geely's SUVs - including the GX7 which will soon be on its way to South Africa - jumped 62% year-on-year to 7,436 units.

In October, Geely's exports to overseas markets - including South Africa - rose 17% year-on-year to 14,282 vehicles, while its domestic sales increased 14% to 41,503 units. In the first ten months of this year, Geely sold 431,595 vehicles in and outside China - up 16% from the same period last year.

China's passenger-vehicle sales last month climbed the most since January, helped by a recovery in economic growth and rebound in demand for Japanese brands. According to the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, wholesale deliveries of cars, MPVs and SUVs rose 24% to 1,6 million units in October.

The fast pace of auto sales - the fastest in nine months - proves that China's economy is gaining momentum. Official statistics released at the beginning of November show industrial production and customs data rose more than forecast, while manufacturing investment strengthened.

Total sales of vehicles, including buses and heavy trucks, rose 20% to 1,9 million units last month, the association said. In the first 10 months of the year, 17,8 million vehicles were delivered, of which 14,5 million were light vehicles. The remaining 3,4 million units were commercial vehicles which increased by 7% in the first 10 months of the year.

Sales of SUVs jumped 73% to 284 200 units last month, while deliveries of multipurpose vehicles more than tripled to 135 300 units. Sedan deliveries gained 17% to 1,1 million vehicles.

China's industrial output growth unexpectedly accelerated and inflation stayed below a government target last month, adding to a picture of an economy that is gaining strength. Production rose 10,3% from a year earlier, while inflation was 3,2%, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Geely, China's private automaker and the parent company of Volvo, aims to sell 560 000 vehicles this year.