Geely plans to launch 4 new SUV models in 2016

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai June 30) - While other domestic own brand manufacturers are focusing on SUVs to achieve success in the competitive Chinese automotive market, Geely with its continued reliance on sedans is a bit of a curiosity.

Ever since the launch of the GC9, the first midsize model in its Emgrand series, Geely has been able to post impressive sales results and heavily influence the domestic sedan market. According to recent statistics, a total of 89,118 Emgrand-branded cars have been sold in the country over the first five months of the year, leading the own brand sedan market by a hefty margin. Geely’s GC9, MK and FC account for 76% of its total sales volume.

However, Geely has been showing signs of wanting to further diversify its product lineup. According to a statement made by Lin Jie, the company’s sales president, Geely has plans to release at least four SUVs next year alone, with a further seven to eight SUVs in the works in the next three to five years. Geely hopes to replicate its successes in the sedan segment in China’s rapidly growing and fiercely competitive SUV market.

Although Geely entered the SUV market earlier than some of its competitors, it failed to gain much success due to the long delays between releases of new products and their respective market launches. Whether the manufacturer can mimic the successes it has achieved in the sedan market in China’s increasingly profitable SUV segment is bound to be a subject of intense speculation over the coming years.