Geely: owner, models, markets and what the name means
Facts checked United States status as of 4 September 2026
- Private
- Hong Kong Stock Exchange 0175
- Nasdaq Stockholm VOLCAR B
- Nasdaq PSNY
- Nasdaq LOT
Geely is the group's mass-market car brand and the reason the whole company exists. Geely Holding entered car making in 1997, the first private company in China allowed to do so, and its first car, the Haoqing, came off the line at Linhai in Zhejiang on 8 August 1998. Cumulative sales passed 20 million vehicles by the end of 2025.
The brand today is split into two lines. Galaxy, called Yinhe in China, carries the plug-in hybrids and electric cars and sold 1.24 million units in 2025. China Star carries the petrol models and sold 1,214,132. Together with Lynk & Co and Zeekr they gave Geely Automobile Holdings 3,024,567 sales in 2025, up 39% year on year, of which 1,687,767 were new energy vehicles.
Export growth has been fast and recent. Geely Auto sold 474,228 vehicles overseas in the first half of 2026, more than in the whole of 2025, and the Geely brand entered seven European markets in 45 days. The two models leading that push are sold under different names in different places: the China-market Geely E5 is the EX5 abroad, the Xingyuan is the EX2, and the Starray EM-i is the EX5 EM-i.
Held through Geely Automobile Holdings, the Hong Kong-listed company (0175) that Geely Holding controls.
Key facts
| Chinese name | 吉利 “JEE-lee” 'auspicious' or 'lucky' |
|---|---|
| Also written | Geely Auto, Geely Galaxy, Geely Yinhe and Geely China Star |
| Owner | Geely Holding |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Hangzhou, China |
| Origin | China |
| First car | Geely Haoqing, 1998 |
| Vehicles | Cars |
| Segment | Mass market |
| United States | Not sold in the United States — No Geely-branded cars are sold in the United States and none have been announced. The group's US-market brands are Volvo Cars and, up to model year 2026, Polestar. |
| Official site | www.geely.com/en |
| 2025 sales (Geely Automobile Holdings) | 3,024,567 vehicles, up 39%; NEV sales 1,687,767, up 90% |
| Galaxy line 2025 | 1.24 million units |
| China Star (petrol) line 2025 | 1,214,132 units, up 3% |
| Cumulative sales | More than 20 million vehicles by the end of 2025 |
| Overseas sales H1 2026 | 474,228 vehicles, up 158% year on year, exceeding full-year 2025 overseas sales |
| 2026 target | 3.45 million vehicles, including 2.22 million new energy vehicles |
Who owns Geely?
Li Shufu owns Geely Holding at 82.23% since 1986.
Li Shufu founded Geely Holding in 1986 and owns 82.233% of it directly; his son Li Xingxing holds 8.0583% and Ningbo Yima Enterprise Management Partnership 9.7087%, which Polestar's 2025 annual report summarises as Li Shufu owning about 91.9% directly or indirectly.
Geely Holding controls Geely since 1997.
The Geely passenger car brand, including the Galaxy line, sits inside Geely Automobile Holdings, the listed company Geely Holding controls. Geely Holding entered car making in 1997 and its first car left the line at Linhai, Zhejiang, on 8 August 1998.
The full ownership page for Geely · Is Geely Auto Chinese?
Geely models
| Model | Name in China | Body | Powertrain | Range | Price in China |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 吉利缤越Coolray | Geely Binyue | SUV | Petrol or diesel | not published | not published |
| 吉利帝豪Emgrand | Geely Emgrand | Saloon | Petrol or diesel | not published | not published |
| 吉利星愿EX2 | Geely Xingyuan | Hatchback | Battery-electric | 310 km CLTC | CNY 64,800 as of |
| 吉利银河E5EX5 | Geely Galaxy E5 | SUV | Battery-electric | 440 km CLTC | CNY 109,800 as of |
| 吉利银河L7Galaxy L7 | Geely Galaxy L7 | SUV | Plug-in hybrid | 115 km CLTC | CNY 105,800 as of |
| 吉利银河星舰7Starray EM-i | Geely Galaxy Starship 7 | SUV | Plug-in hybrid | 130 km CLTC | CNY 101,800 as of |
Where Geely is sold
Recorded in 13 market s: AT, Australia, Brazil, CH, CN, Germany, Spain, France, GR, Mexico, Netherlands, PT and Vietnam. Where a company publishes only its principal markets, that is a floor and not a complete list.
| Country | Code | Market page |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | AT | no page yet |
| Australia | AU | Chinese cars in Australia |
| Brazil | BR | Chinese cars in Brazil |
| Switzerland | CH | no page yet |
| China | CN | no page yet |
| Germany | DE | Chinese cars in Germany |
| Spain | ES | Chinese cars in Spain |
| France | FR | Chinese cars in France |
| Greece | GR | no page yet |
| Mexico | MX | Chinese cars in Mexico |
| Netherlands | NL | Chinese cars in the Netherlands |
| Portugal | PT | no page yet |
| Vietnam | VN | Chinese cars in Vietnam |
Geely: questions people ask
- How do you pronounce Geely?
- JEE-lee, with a hard J as in 'jeep' and the stress on the first syllable. It transliterates the Chinese 吉利 (Jílì), which means 'auspicious' or 'lucky'.
- Is Geely Chinese?
- Yes. Geely is the passenger car brand of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a private company founded in Zhejiang province in 1986 and based in Hangzhou. It was the first privately owned carmaker in China.
- What is Geely Galaxy?
- Galaxy, 银河 Yinhe in China, is Geely's line of plug-in hybrid and electric models, launched as a product series in 2023 and run as its own brand since 2025. It sold 1.24 million units in 2025.
- Are Geely cars sold in the United States?
- No. The Geely brand is not sold in the US. Within the group, Volvo Cars sells there and Polestar has been barred from selling model year 2027 and later cars under the US connected vehicle rule.
Related
Sources for Geely
- Geely Auto, Geely Auto Exceeds 3.02 Million Vehicle Sales in 2025, Sets New Growth Targets for 2026. Read .
- Geely Auto, Geely Auto Achieves Record Overseas Growth in First Half of 2026. Read . Also the source for the European market entries and the export model-name crosswalk.
- Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Overview. Read .
- Wikipedia, Geely Auto (article). Read . Finding aid for the 1998 Haoqing and the first-private-carmaker point.