Geely Holdings Group recently announced its plan to sell all of its B-class shares in Volvo Group. According to market estimates, the total value of these shares held by Geely Holdings is approximately SEK 14.46 billion, which is equivalent to USD 1.32 billion or CNY 9.632 billion. However, Geely Holdings will still retain 88.5 million A-class shares in Volvo Group, making it the second-largest shareholder.
In fact, this is not the first time that Geely has reduced its stake in Volvo Group. As early as November 17, 2023, Geely announced the release of a small portion of its Volvo Car shares, reducing its ownership stake from 82% to 78.7%. The funds obtained from the transaction will be used to support the global development of Geely’s subsidiary brands.
Data shows that since its acquisition by Geely Holdings in 2010, Volvo Cars has expanded its global production layout with full support from Geely Holdings, doubling its sales volume and embarking on a comprehensive electrification transformation. In 2021, Volvo Cars successfully went public on the Stockholm Nasdaq Exchange.
In 2023, Volvo Cars sold a total of 708,716 vehicles globally, including 113,419 pure electric vehicles, representing a significant increase of 70% compared to the previous year and accounting for 16% of its total global sales. In the first quarter of this year, Volvo Cars achieved a global sales volume of 182,687 vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 12%.
As for Geely, it sold 1,686,516 new vehicles in 2023, an 18% increase compared to the previous year. Among them, pure electric vehicles accounted for 334,598 units, a 28% increase, and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 152,863 units, a 130% increase. The annual export volume reached 274,101 units, a 38% increase. In the first quarter of this year, Geely sold 475,720 vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 49%, including 381,605 units sold under the Geely brand, a 44% increase. Lynk & Co achieved cumulative sales of 33,059 units this year, a 117% increase, and LEVC achieved cumulative sales of 61,056 units, a 64% increase.
Driven by the growth in sales volume, Geely Automotive achieved operating revenue of CNY 179.2 billion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 21%, reaching a historic high. The net profit attributable to shareholders reached CNY 5.308 billion, representing a significant increase of 51% compared to CNY 3.511 billion in 2022 after excluding the one-time gain from bargain purchase. The net cash level increased by 46% year-on-year to CNY 28.4 billion.
According to the plan, Geely’s sales target for 2024 is 1.9 million vehicles, a 13% increase compared to 2023. In addition, the sales volume of new energy vehicles is expected to increase by 66% compared to the previous year.