Geely‘s stand at AMTS: the domestic offensive was launched here
Another Chinese brand has arrived in Hungary: Geely has announced the prices of its first two models available in Hungary as part of the 2026 AMTS, as well as discounts for the first 500 and first 100 customers. We reported on this in a previous article, but after the event I had the opportunity to ask several questions to the Hungarian president of the company. Allen Yang received the first question about Geely’s European plans: He revealed that “This is a strategically important market for the manufacturer, which is why, after the global expansion strategy, essentially as a last step, they come here with the experience they already have. He compared the European market to the Chinese market in terms of size, but added that European customers want more environmentally friendly, safer and more comfortable cars. According to his claim Geely is prepared for this, and they have long-term plans for the European market.
The question arose: Don’t you think their arrival on the European market is late, given that other Chinese manufacturers have already started expanding in 2023?
Allen Yang, president of Geely in Hungary, answered our questions
“Whenever we come, it’s not too late. We come when we have to. The other manufacturers arrived too early: if they don’t prepare enough and arrive before time, they will quickly fall out. According to Geely, the customer will always be there, and the market will not go anywhere. It doesn’t matter who came when, the question is who will be pushed out of the market, because they will lose the customer, the brand, the market. So the point is not that late we’re here, but how long will we stay. We’re not here temporarily, and our other brands, Lynk&Co., have already arrived, and each brand has its own place and time to enter the market. We started with Volvo, Zeekr, and Farizon our strategy, so I don’t feel that we are late” – came the confident reply.
There are still people who don’t know: Volvo is also owned by Geely, so essentially the Chinese company group has been present in Europe since 2010
Yang also explained that they have a significant advantage compared to brands that only came to the market with a different distribution model, because the user experience is completely different when the manufacturer is behind the product, whether it is service experience or parts supply. “He emphasized: if the numbers are not adequate in 5-10 years, the dealer will move away, change the logo on the salon, and that’s it. But a manufacturer cannot do that, they will be there for the customer. There was talk of moving production to Europe, where Allen Yang explained for the first time that time is the primary consideration, the sooner they can produce, the better, and moreover, they are not planning on just one factory. This is how the question presented itself: Are you planning to build a factory in Hungary?
“Hungary is definitely a place to consider, as the Hungarian government and the Chinese government have very good relations. […] This is also good for the business, as we plan for the long term and want to invest substantial sums. […] In addition to the security of our investment, it is important that labor is cheap in Hungary and that other factories, such as BYD, also come here. […] Meanwhile, negotiations are already underway with other brands, such as Volvo and Renault, but also with other manufacturers. Because we want to start production immediately, we don’t have time to start from scratch. That would be at least three years, and we will start production next year. We don’t have time to build a new factory, we have to think about who already has an existing factory for us.”
Building a new plant takes years, but Geely wants to start production in Europe as early as 2027
After that, it was discussed which European or Japanese manufacturer Geely wants to position itself with, and we received a very confident answer.
“As I said at the opening, we are the benchmark. Because no one else has a product like the one we brought here. The technical foundations, our hybrid system, the technology, no one else has it. The Japanese manufacturers will definitely not be our competitors, because we play in a different league, we are on separate paths, to be more precise. We are the market leader, so I think the Japanese will follow us. That is why we do not compare ourselves to other manufacturers. We respect others, but we have to focus on our own customers, the goal is to satisfy them. […] If you don’t deal with the customer, you’re done, because it’s not the competition that will destroy you, but the dissatisfied customer.” In this regard, he later added that no more than 5 Chinese manufacturers will remain on the market by 2030, and Geely will be among them.
Geely wants to become the most popular Chinese brand in Hungary already this year
Exactly how many cars do you want to sell in Hungary and how many in Europe in 2026 and 2027?
Mr. Yang’s positivity did not decrease after hearing the question, in fact, it leveled up. He revealed that they want to be among the 10 most popular manufacturers this year, and they aim for first place among Chinese brands. The issue of warranty and battery packs was also discussed, and Allen Yang advocated the warranty for 8 years or 200,000 kilometers. He emphasized that this interval also applies to battery packs.
Allen Yang named serious brands when he talked about Geely’s technological superiority
“Our battery is also a market leader, neither Toyota nor BYD has such technology. We are the most modern on the market in terms of charging speed and energy density, but also in terms of quality. The quality of our current batteries is much better than the previous ones, even better than Toyota. […] That is why we undertake the 8-year and 200,000-kilometer warranty for the batteries as well.” After that, we received questions about the degradation of the battery packs, to which we received the answer that, although the degradation largely depends on the use, by the end of the 8-year warranty period, even in the worst case, Geely’s battery packs should have at least 60-80 percent of the new capacity.
The confidence was already visible at the event, but after the interview it became even clearer that Geely came to Hungary with very serious plans
