Gasgoo Munich- On August 17, Geely Automobile Holdings (0175.HK) released its interim results for 2026: total revenue hit 173.6 billion yuan, up 15% year-on-year — a record high for the period. Core net profit attributable to shareholders climbed 46% to 9.68 billion yuan. Sales volume reached 1.423 million units, with exports surging 158% to 474,000 vehicles.Just ahead of the earnings call, Geely unveiled a management shake-up. Effective August 18, Li Shufu resigned as chairman and executive director of Geely Automobile Holdings, with An Conghui succeeding him. Gui Shengyue stepped down as CEO to become vice chairman, while Gan Jiayue took over as CEO. Li Donghui resigned as vice chairman but stays on as an executive director.Industry insiders have dubbed this shift the "dawn of the professional manager era" at Geely, while others view it as a watershed moment for the company's new stage of development.Further "Empowerment"This reshuffle isn't happening in a vacuum. Back in May 2025, during its first-quarter earnings briefing and the "One Geely" strategic integration meeting, the company had already outlined its management overhaul plan:An Conghui was named CEO of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, taking full charge of operations, while Gan Jiayue became CEO of the consolidated Geely Automobile Group, overseeing the Galaxy and ZEEKR (including ZEEKR and Lynk & Co) business clusters. At the time, the privatization and merger of ZEEKR were pending, with these appointments set to take effect upon completion of the deal.An Conghui's appointment as CEO took effect in January 2026. Seven months later, assuming the role of chairman at Geely Automobile Holdings, he now centralizes core decision-making power for both the holding group and the listed platform in a single pair of hands.The intent is clear: with An Conghui steering both the holding group's operations and the listed company's governance, Geely ensures the "One Geely" strategy advances in lockstep across both capital markets and daily operations.Gan Jiayue's ascent follows a similar logic. As CEO of the merged Geely Automobile Group, he continues to drive the "One Geely" strategy. His promotion to CEO of the listed entity marks his rise from running operational subsidiaries to entering the core decision-making layer of the capital platform.Both An and Gan are homegrown talents. An started from the grassroots, spearheading the development of the Emgrand series, the CMA architecture, and the SEA sustainable experience architecture. He also played a key role in incubating the Lynk & Co and ZEEKR brands.Gan Jiayue began his career in finance, gaining experience across procurement and business management. He specializes in supply chain construction and cost control, and led the execution of the Geely Galaxy brand's launch from scratch. Still in his 40s, he is one of the youngest core executives in the Geely system.During the Q&A session, both executives fielded questions on strategy, product planning, brand dynamics, charging networks, and globalization with specific data and clear articulation — a testament to their deep familiarity with the business details.The reshuffle raises a critical question: Why now?On the surface, it's a matter of timing. Li Shufu and Gui Shengyue are both in their 60s, reaching China's statutory retirement age, and are gradually stepping back. Li Donghui and An Conghui, born in the 1970s, are in their professional prime. Li Donghui's focus is shifting more toward the holding group level and international affairs.But the deeper reason is that the "One Geely" strategic integration is essentially complete, and the organizational structure has been streamlined. The ZEEKR privatization and multi-brand integration launched in 2025 have taken shape by mid-2026. Handing over the reins now means the new team inherits an already rationalized organizational system.The most fundamental reason lies in the shifting logic of industry competition. China's auto market has moved from growth to saturation, with a price war dragging on for three years. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows the industry's average net profit margin was just 1.6% in the first half.In this environment, the demands on decision-making efficiency and organizational capability have fundamentally changed. The past model, reliant on the founder's personal judgment, is increasingly ill-suited for high-frequency, multi-dimensional market competition. Geely needs a more institutionalized and professional governance structure to cope.From a corporate governance perspective, family-run businesses often face three common pitfalls: over-reliance on the founder for decisions, limited room for talent advancement, and concentrated succession risks."This marks Geely Automobile's transition from a founder-driven startup to a mature enterprise driven by systems and teams," Gui Shengyue stated at the earnings call. "Geely will no longer rely on personal charisma and authority, but on organizational systems and talent pipelines."Yet, handing over the reins doesn't mean walking away. Li Shufu remains chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the controlling shareholder of Geely Automobile, and has been named honorary life chairman of the listed entity. He retains final say over major strategic decisions, capital maneuvers, and core executive appointments. It is an arrangement of "letting go of operations, but not control."Geely is accelerating its globalization, aiming for sales of 6.5 million vehicles and revenue exceeding 1 trillion yuan by 2030. Such an expansion pace requires a more professional governance structure to support it, while the founder's continued grip on strategic direction provides stability during the transition.Confidence Backed by PerformanceLi Shufu's decision to push for the transition at this juncture is directly tied to the performance delivered under An Conghui and Gan Jiayue.In the first half of 2026, China passenger car market slumped 24.3%. In contrast, Geely Automobile sold 1.423 million vehicles, managing slight growth and boosting its market share to 11%. Amid widespread declines among rivals, Geely expanded its share against the current.Specifically in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, where the overall market dropped 17%, Geely's share actually rose to 10%. Its China Star series has held the title of best-selling Chinese ICE passenger car lineup for years. In a cycle of accelerating ICE contraction, gaining market share carries more weight than raw sales figures.Source: Geely AutomobileMeanwhile, Geely's sales mix is shifting across three dimensions.First, the push into new energy and premium segments continues. Geely's new energy vehicle sales reached roughly 800,000 units in the first half, accounting for 56% of total sales. ZEEKR sold nearly 180,000 units during the same period — almost doubling year-on-year — with its contribution to revenue rising to 31.7%. The ZEEKR 9X became the best-selling model across all categories in the 500,000-yuan-plus price bracket.Second, an explosion in exports. Geely's first-half export growth ranked first among mainstream Chinese automakers. By August 17, it had already hit its full-year export target of 640,000 units ahead of schedule. Regionally, Latin America and Europe saw growth approaching 300%, while ASEAN grew over 120%. Buoyed by this performance, Geely has raised its full-year export target to 920,000 units, with a sprint goal of 1 million.Third, improving profitability. Geely's revenue growth outpaced sales growth in the first half, lifting the gross margin to 17.9%. Revenue per vehicle reached 112,000 yuan, up 16%, while core net profit per vehicle jumped nearly 50% to 6,806 yuan.Under Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards, however, profit attributable to shareholders was 9.09 billion yuan, a slight dip, primarily due to foreign exchange losses. Still, the group's solid fundamentals and market share gains form the practical basis for Li Shufu's decision to hand over the reins now.Gui Shengyue believes there is "still room for improvement" in Geely's performance, adding, "I believe a stunning financial report will appear in the near future." An Conghui reiterated that Geely "insists on not fighting a price war, but rather a war of value, technology, quality, service, and brand."The data tells the story: revenue growth outpaced sales, gross margin growth outpaced revenue, and net profit growth outpaced gross margin. This growth structure echoes management's strategic stance: profit is being driven by product mix optimization and efficiency gains, not by price cuts for volume.Next Step: Strengthening the Mid-RangeThe strategic direction disclosed at the earnings call is equally noteworthy, centering on deepening the "One Geely" strategy across four key areas.First, strengthening mid-range new energy products.An Conghui pinpointed a structural gap in Geely's current new energy lineup: "We still lack blockbuster products... we lack mid-range strength, mid-range products." While ZEEKR covers the high end and Galaxy Xingyuan handles volume at the entry level, the mainstream price band between 120,000 and 250,000 yuan currently lacks a breakout hit with significant market traction.This is the most fiercely contested price band in the Chinese market, home to formidable competitors like BYD. Geely isn't absent — the Galaxy E5, Starship 7, and certain Lynk & Co models sit in this range — but individual sales haven't reached blockbuster status. Lynk & Co is positioned higher, while China Star is primarily ICE-powered, leaving a clear void in the mid-range new energy segment.Gan Jiayue noted that new energy products are concentrated in the second half, making it "the most critical period for Geely." Models like the Galaxy TT, Galaxy Starship 700, Lynk & Co 07GT, and Lynk & Co Z20 — mostly priced for the mainstream market — are expected to plug this gap.Whether they can deliver a hit in this hyper-competitive price band will be the first major test of the new team's product definition capabilities.The China Star brand is fully transitioning to Geely's proprietary i-HEV hybrid technology, adding three new models this year. Gan Jiayue stated that future development will cease on traditional ICE vehicles, opting instead to upgrade hybrid technology to capture existing demand.Source: Geely AutomobileSecond, continuous internal resource integration. Beyond product layout, organizational and supply chain integration form the other pillar of the "One Geely" strategy.Organizationally, Geely has established an Automobile Group Sales Headquarters with six first-tier sales units, including China Star, Galaxy, Lynk & Co, and ZEEKR. This builds a flat model where the "front office is close to users, while the middle and back offices share resources." Since "One Geely" was implemented, overlapping products have been cut by over 20%, clarifying brand positioning.On the R&D front, teams in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Frankfurt, Germany, have merged into "Geely Tech Europe," aiming to compress the gap between Chinese and overseas new model launches to under six months.Regarding the supply chain, facing rising costs for chips and lithium carbonate in the first half, Geely has established strategic partnerships with suppliers like Horizon Robotics, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Micron, while pushing for domestic chip substitution.Geely Automobile Group CFO Dai Yong also revealed that Geely has adjusted all supplier payment terms to under 60 days, and under 30 days for small and medium suppliers, with a future plan to move to spot payments. The group's overall days payable outstanding fell from 115 days to 103 days in the first half.Shortening payment terms voluntarily may tie up capital in the short term, but it helps stabilize supplier relationships and guarantee component quality, building supply chain resilience for the medium-to-long term.Third, full-domain AI as a core engine. Geely was among the first automakers to propose a "full-domain AI" strategy. This has yielded results: the Xingrui Intelligent Computing Center 2.0 is operational; SiEngine's proprietary 7nm automotive-grade "Dragon Eagle One" cockpit chip has been installed in over 1 million vehicles; and next-gen high-performance intelligent driving chips are fast approaching mass production. Driver assistance and smart cockpit systems are now being rolled out at scale across multiple models.Crucially, AI technology is permeating from the cockpit and intelligent driving into underlying domains like hybrid fuel consumption, electric drive efficiency, and chassis calibration.In the second half, features like the advanced world behavior model, city roaming assisted driving, and all-time active smart cockpits will launch, spreading from premium flagships to models like Lynk & Co and Galaxy. For Geely, full-domain AI means using vertical AI large models to empower every link of product competitiveness — the confidence behind An Conghui's repeated emphasis on fighting a "tech war."Source: Geely AutomobileFourth, light-asset globalization. Of the four strategic directions, globalization is accelerating fastest. An Conghui outlined the overseas path: in this new phase of global transformation, Geely will not build new capacity alone. Instead, it will cooperate with brands within the holding system and external strategic partners to co-invest, co-develop, share capacity, and leverage local supply chains, human resources, and service networks.This path already has multiple implementations. Geely currently has 12 overseas manufacturing plants in operation, over 2,000 global channels covering 114 core markets, and will add one more plant in the second half. Total overseas annual capacity will rise from 650,000 to 840,000 vehicles.Key projects are progressing regionally: In Europe, Volvo plants will produce multiple premium luxury brands starting in 2028, while the Ford Spain plant has an annual capacity of about 500,000 vehicles. In Asia-Pacific, the Korea plant is being built as a 500,000-unit base. In South America, the Renault partnership project in Brazil has a capacity of about 300,000 units.Regarding the partnership with Ford, An Conghui drew clear boundaries: products will be developed based on Geely's GEA architecture, and vehicles produced locally for Europe will be sold exclusively in Europe, not entering the U.S. market.On the model front, ZEEKR and Galaxy are the vanguards. The ZEEKR 9X is set to debut in the UAE in late September, rolling out to the Middle East, Latin America, and Central Asia in Q4, and entering right-hand drive markets in Q1 next year. The ZEEKR 8X is expected to launch in the UAE next January.The Galaxy brand will launch seven new models overseas within the year. The Geely Xingyuan surpassed 20,000 in overseas sales in June; the Xingyuan, Galaxy E5, and Starship 7 have already claimed top sales spots in various markets. Additionally, China Star i-HEV models are planned to enter Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Australia-New Zealand markets in 2027.Gan Jiayue revealed that overseas demand for ZEEKR is already palpable. Even before the ZEEKR 9X and 8X completed overseas certification, customers were placing orders. Some have even chartered planes to buy them, while others paid premiums of hundreds of thousands of yuan through dealer channels. Demand is particularly robust in the Middle East and Europe.By 2026, Geely aims to establish a regional market structure comprising one 300,000-unit scale market, three 200,000-unit markets, and one 100,000-unit market, ultimately achieving the goal of deriving two-thirds of sales from overseas.In ConclusionWith a record-breaking interim financial report and a management reshuffle announcement, Geely has completed a handover of power.But the handover is just the beginning. Geely's strategic layout reveals several risk points that require continued attention:The lack of a blockbuster product in the mainstream price band points to a gap in product definition. The shift from exporting products to exporting systems places higher demands on localized operational capabilities. AI investment must translate into end-product competitiveness rather than remaining conceptual. These challenges won't resolve automatically simply because of a personnel change.These challenges aren't unique to Geely, but the company's response offers two insights worth watching for the industry:First, the professional succession of the talent pipeline. Most private Chinese automakers are still steered directly by their founders, who are generally in their 50s or 60s, meaning systematic succession planning has not yet taken center stage.Geely handing the daily operations of its listed company to a team of internally grown professional managers is an early attempt at institutionalization. Whether this path succeeds hinges on whether the management team can maintain strategic resolve and execution efficiency after the founder steps back from daily management.Second, the cooperation model for globalization. Amid rising tariff barriers and geopolitical risks, Geely's path of sharing capacity and co-developing with partners like Ford and Renault offers an alternative to self-built factories for Chinese automakers going global.However, the cost of a light-asset model is dependence on partners. Local policy shifts, a partner's operational health, or profit-sharing mechanisms — every link can impact the final outcome.The success or failure of these two paths will not only determine Geely's own 2030 goals but also provide an observable sample for the Chinese automotive industry. As for the results, the coming product cycles and overseas expansion phases will provide the answer.
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