Sales of Geely South Africa’s parent company in China, the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, are expanding at a rapid rate – mirroring a similar trend on local soil. Geely sold 55 785 vehicles of its own brands in China last month – up 15 per cent from a year earlier.
In October, Geely’s exports to overseas markets – including South Africa – rose 17 per cent year-on-year to 14 282 vehicles, while its domestic sales increased 14 per cent to 41 503 units. In the first ten months of this year, Geely sold 431 595 vehicles in and outside China.
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 per cent to 1,6 million units in October.
Total sales of vehicles, including buses and heavy trucks, rose 20 per cent 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 per cent in the first 10 months of the year.
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 per cent from a year earlier, while inflation was 3,2 per cent, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
Geely, China’s biggest private automaker and the parent company of Volvo, aims to sell 560 000 vehicles this year, which will in all likelihood outstrip total new vehicle sales in SA for 2013.