Geely Auto, the mainland’s second-largest carmaker, will not build new plants amid excess capacity worldwide, a move that is likely to ripple across the sector as most Chinese companies are finding it difficult to make profits.
Chairman Li Shufu told the Chongqing Auto Show over the weekend that the company would avoid building excess capacity and instead focus on improving its technological capabilities to become a key player in the future of mobility.
“The global automotive industry is mired in severe overcapacity woes, [so] we have decided to stop building new car plants,” he said in a video clip posted online.
His comments came as carmakers were mired in a brutal price war on the mainland. Leading players such as BYD, Geely and start-up Leapmotor slashed prices of 70 models by as much as 20 per cent in the last week of May to retain market share, according to the 21st Century Business Herald newspaper.
Chinese carmakers’ discounts more than doubled to a record 16.8 per cent in April from 8.3 per cent in 2024, according to a JPMorgan Chase report in May.
