Geely delays rollout of online car sales plan

January 17 (Aftermarket Business) Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Volvo Car Corp.'s new owner, has recently held an auction on Alibaba Corp.'s Taobao.com, a b2c online shopping platform that has evolved into an e-commerce superstore. The firm sold 300 Geely Panda models, a micro car popular among China's young white collar workers, within a minute during the auction. The company has launched an online store on Taobao Mall, becoming the first automotive sales enterprise on the mall.
 
However, the company's plan to sell Geely Panda on a large scale through Taobao starting from December 28, 2010 didn't go according to plan for several reasons. Geely Group Vice President Liu Jinliang said in an interview that the car version used exclusively for online sales still had many glitches. According to Liu, the final work to make the vehicle ready for the market will be completed after the 2011 Chinese Spring Festival in February.