The Geely brand will fade away, Company says

Geely Automobile Holdings said Tuesday that the Geely brand would be gone by 2012. However, the Chinese auto company will soldier on with its Gleagle, Emgrand and Shanghai Englon brands. In other words, Geely will no longer market a car that bears the parent company’s name.

The automaker, which recently bought Volvo from Ford, said that it planned to add more dealerships for its Emgrand luxury brand, and that its Shanghai Englon brand would focus on economy vehicles.

While China’s auto industry has seen phenomenal growth, the torrid pace has slowed a bit in recent months. The Associated Press reported that while March sales in China were up 60 percent from the month a year earlier, the August increase came in at only 18 percent.

Geely, based in Hangzhou, said that it had found slow growth in first- and second-tier cities, but double-digit growth in third- and fourth-tier cities.

In announcing the move at a flagship dealership in Shanghai that sells all the Geely brands under one roof, the company indicated that it wouldn’t be focusing on more mega dealerships.

“We will not push this type of dealership elsewhere in the country, except for special areas of interest such as Nanjing and Tianjin,” said Liu Jinliang, vice president at Geely Group.

Although the Geely brand will soon be history, those with an affinity for a particular Geely model need not despair, as their favorite might still be available. The current Geely Freedom Ship and Yuan Jing models will reportedly migrate to the Gleagle brand, while the Geely King Kong and Golden Eagle will wear the Shanghai Englon badge.