2021 November 6, Hangzhou. Thirty-five years ago, a young hopeful entrepreneur with a vision that free enterprise and market-based solutions could drive the sustainable development of society started a company in a village warehouse. Today, the company Eric Li founded, Geely Holding Group, has evolved from a small village workshop to a Fortune Global 500 automotive and mobility technology solutions provider in a 35 year period.
From making refrigerator parts to freezers, from making aluminum alloy panels to developing advanced new materials, from making mopeds to motorcycles, and from making small cars to all kinds of personal and commercial vehicles, Geely has gone from success to success.
Geely entered the automotive industry in 1997 with its first hatchback model, the Haoqing. From then, the Group quickly grew from a local automaker with one model selling thousands per year in the Chinese market to a global automaker with hundreds of models selling over 2 million vehicles per year all over the world.
Each anniversary of the enterprise is a milestone, but 2021 was particularly special for Geely. The thirty-fifth year of Geely is a new turning point for the company as it accelerates its development of sustainable, electrified, smart mobility solutions.
In 2021, Geely witnessed the launch of its new premium electric mobility technology and solutions company, ZEEKR. The Group also celebrated its 10th year on the Fortune Global 500, most recently ranking 239. The first satellites, which will support high-speed connectivity, precise navigation, and future cloud computing, rolled off the assembly line.
Geely recently welcomed new investors to Volvo Cars as it took the esteemed Swedish company public on the Nasdaq Stockholm Exchange. Volvo’s successful IPO will accelerate the electrification of the brand. In America, premium performance electric brand Polestar has signed an agreement to go public via a SPAC and produce their next model in South Carolina.
Geely Auto Group has also made public its plans for the electrification and sustainable development of the company over the next five years, which includes a promise to sell over 1 million electrified vehicles per annum by 2025 and reducing total life-cycle emissions by 25%.
In its thirty-fifth year, Geely has gone from a seed nourished by dreams and tenacity to a forest supported by the hard work and shared destinies of all its employees, stakeholders, partners, and friends. Over the next three decades, Geely Holding will continue to look to the future with continual global growth as well as pursuing its strategic goal of creating a future smart mobility ecosystem connecting the land, skies, and space.