Geely October sales hit 310,183, just 245 short of record as exports surge

• Geely Auto sold 310,183 vehicles in October, just 245 short of its monthly record set last November.
• Exports totaled 107,153 vehicles, bringing the total for the first 10 months to 98% of its annual export target of 920,000 vehicles.

Geely Auto's (HKEX: 0175) October sales reached a new high for the year for the third consecutive month as exports remained strong. However, year-on-year growth slowed to 1% as its domestic sales decline deepened.

The Chinese automaker sold 310,183 vehicles in October, up 0.99% year-on-year and 6.17% from September, according to data released on Sunday.

That was its second-highest monthly total, just 245 vehicles short of the record 310,428 set last November. Year-on-year growth had exceeded 5% in each of the preceding 3 months, including 6.97% in September.

Geely exported 107,153 vehicles in October, up 157.78% year-on-year and 0.44% from September, though still below the record 110,094 set in August. Exports accounted for 35% of total sales, down from 37% in September.

The company's sales in China fell 23.55% year-on-year to 203,030 vehicles in October, widening from September's 20.21% decline. Still, domestic sales rose 9.46% from September to their highest monthly level since January.

Geely's new energy vehicle (NEV) sales rose 20.86% year-on-year and 12.64% month-on-month to 214,996 vehicles in October, exceeding 200,000 for the first time. NEVs accounted for a record 69% of total sales.

Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales rose 43% year-on-year to 140,758 vehicles, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales fell 6.66% to 74,238. PHEV sales had been largely flat year-on-year in September.

By brand, the core Geely brand, including Geely Galaxy, sold 255,742 vehicles in October, up 4.17% year-on-year and 8.15% from September.

The Galaxy sub-brand sold a record 153,385 vehicles, up 20.32% year-on-year and 17.56% month-on-month, exceeding 150,000 for the first time. Its sales for the year to date reached 1,030,569 vehicles, up 2.80%.

Zeekr sold 32,483 vehicles, up 51.63% year-on-year, ending a run of 9 consecutive months in which growth had approached or exceeded 100%. Sales fell 12.72% from September, marking its first month-on-month decline since January.

Lynk & Co sold 21,958 vehicles, down 45.40% year-on-year, its steepest decline this year and its seventh consecutive month of contraction. However, sales rose 18.74% from September to their highest monthly level since April.

Geely Auto sold 2,545,664 vehicles in the first 10 months, up 2.76% year-on-year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost. That represented 74% of its full-year target of 3,450,000 vehicles.

The company would need to sell an average of about 452,000 vehicles per month in the final 2 months to meet that goal, well above its current monthly record of 310,428.

Exports in the same period rose 167.94% year-on-year to 904,823 vehicles, reaching 98% of the full-year target of 920,000 and leaving a gap of only about 15,000 vehicles. The target was raised from 640,000 on August 17.

Sales in China totaled 1,640,841 vehicles in the first 10 months, down 23.31% year-on-year.

The core Geely brand's sales for the year to date period fell 1.18% to 2,006,702 vehicles. Lynk & Co's sales declined 22.58% to 218,075, while Zeekr's rose 94.45% to 320,887.