2024 was the year that Chinese brands really entered the market, either as new arrivals or by intensifying their efforts to gain market share. Naturally the existing Japanese and Korean brands also defended their turf with more active campaigns and sales efforts. The result was an automotive industry that has never been more vibrant.
But among the Chinese brands, one of the pioneers has remained relatively quiet. Geely was one of the rising stars in the automotive space when it relaunched in 2019 under the Sojitz Corporation. On the back of a strong lineup that included the popular Coolray crossover, Geely cracked the top 10 ranking of Philippine automotive car sales.
However, it stumbled last year because of an after-sales incident, and the brand suffered in both sales and reputation. In July this year, Geely severed ties with Sojitz and decided to handle operations itself. After that Geely PH was quiet save for an announcement of a Coolray refresh.
Now we have more insight into what’s next for this popular China brand. We met with key executives from Geely, now called Geely Motor Philippines, and they told us they will have a big public relaunch in the first quarter of 2025. It’s also telling that one of the first press releases they sent was about a new parts center in Laguna, signifying their intent on rectifying past mistakes.
New ‘electrified’ models are coming next year as well. Although they declined to specify which models, we can expect to see maybe four new Geely vehicles in 2025.
Among the Chinese brands, many of which have gone all in with battery electric vehicles (BEV), Geely has yet to launch a single BEV. This has been a good strategy, reflected in Geely’s healthy sales of its gasoline-powered models. When asked if 2025 will be the year we see a fully electric Geely model officially sold here, Geely representatives said they are always studying the market for potential regarding new models.
All we can do now is wait and see what Geely has in story for its next iteration. 2025 is shaping up to be an exciting year.
