中 Geely Automobile's Profitability Fall Even though Its Appearance Is Large... In a dilemma, "The factory will stop construction."

*This content was translated by AI.

China's Geely Automotive Group sold 4,116,321 vehicles in 2025, up 26% year-on-year, a record. This is the first time in geographic history that it has surpassed the 4 million mark, and it has also ranked seventh in the global automobile sales ranking. However, it turned out that the interior was not as solid as the appearance that had grown.

The most painful part is the decline in profitability indicators. Geely Automobile Holdings' sales in the first half of 2025 grew 27% year-on-year to about 150.3 billion yuan (about 28 trillion won), but its net profit attributable to shareholders seems to have slowed down in effect when excluding profits from one-time asset sales. In particular, Zeekr, a premium electrification brand within the group, also recorded a net loss of about 300 million yuan (about 56 billion won) in the third quarter of 2025, failing to fully escape the deficit.

Polestar, a subsidiary of Geely Motors, is worse off. Polestar posted a net loss of $1.193 billion (W1.6 trillion) in the first half of 2025 alone. The gross margin of revenue has fallen to -49.4%. This is why Geely Motors has become a relief pitcher by transfusing $300 million worth of emergency funds to Polestar and converting bonds into stocks. Despite these efforts, Polestar's market capitalization has plunged 96% from $28 billion at the time of listing to the recent $1.1 billion level. The future has been drawn with the listing of Nasdaq, but the reality is disastrous.

In the end, Geely Motors decided on the 12th (local time) that it will no longer build factories and adopt a method of integrating or recycling existing factories based on global partnerships. Until now, the construction of new overseas factories by Chinese automobiles has been a key indicator of a company's global ambitions. Geely Motors is the first Chinese brand to adopt a different direction.

After all, Geely's strategy is focused on 'capital efficiency' in securing the maximum production base with minimal capital input. Geely Automotive has become an automotive giant that owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Proton, Zicker and Smart. As a starting point for ensuring the autonomy of these brands and saving the brand's personality, Geely Motors is attempting to gradually reset its identity from the existing "giant manufacturer" framework to the operating system (OS) of the global manufacturing network.

Meanwhile, Zicker established "Zicker Intelligent Technology Korea" to enter Korea and completed the registration of domestic trademarks. According to the industry, it is expected to take full-fledged steps around April. In addition, it plans to unveil the SUV '9X' equipped with Level 3 autonomous driving during this period and deliver it from the second half of the year.

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*This content was translated by AI.