(Aug 17): Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd reported a surge in second-quarter profit as robust exports helped the carmaker weather sluggish demand in China, and announced a revamp of its executive lineup including the resignation of Li Shufu as chairman.

Li has been appointed honorary chairman for life, allowing him to devote more time to his other businesses and helping with succession planning, the company said Monday. He will continue to serve as chairman of parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, indicating he’ll maintain oversight over his sprawling auto empire.

The announcement followed an earnings report that showed net income rose 36% to 4.9 billion yuan (US$727 million or RM2.9 billion) in the three months ended June 30, meeting analyst expectations. Half-year profit fell 1.8% to 9.09 billion yuan, though topped estimates.

Geely Auto shares closed 4.8% higher in Hong Kong.

With domestic momentum slowing, Geely is looking to expand its overseas footprint. The carmaker said it’s raised its 2026 export target 23% to 920,000 units.

That’s building on a strong start to the year, with Geely’s exports more than doubling in the first half to 474,228 vehicles, according to an earlier company statement. Chinese car sales in the first six months fell 20%, with the Passenger Car Association forecasting a 14% contraction for all of 2026.

A brief lead over BYD Co at the start of the year has eroded, as the world’s largest EV maker benefitted from demand driven by higher oil prices due to the US-Iran war. Overseas sales reached more than 812,700 cars in the first six months of this year, nearly twice the volume of Geely’s exports.

While Geely Auto also sells fully electric vehicles and hybrids, it has been slower than BYD in setting up a distribution network overseas and is only now catching up.

Still, Geely’s more premium offerings through its Zeekr sub-brand are also paying off. The 9X luxury sport utility vehicle became China’s best-selling vehicle above 500,000 yuan and lifted Geely’s average selling price per car by 15,000 yuan to 112,000 yuan.

The company reached an agreement in July to share capacity and produce vehicles at Ford Motor Co’s underutilised Valencia plant in Spain, and is due to start local production of its EX5 compact crossover and EX2 subcompact hatchback — which is known as the Xingyuan model in China — through a joint venture with Renault SA in Brazil.

Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja