Geely Automotive Holdings is one of the four largest automakers in China and their latest announcement needs careful reading before any sort of interpretation.
The headline is that the Geely brand will be dissolved by 2012 but things aren’t that simple. This move isn’t one to liquidate but it is a rather bold marketing attempt for a Chinese company.
Essentially what they will be doing is killing of the big name, in order to help the smaller brands they own develop and gain sales at a faster rate. While the big name, which is associated with rather poor quality products, mostly the tightest of budget options fades away, the other brands which feature better pedigree and product image will be better received by the public.
Either way, this will certainly benefit the companies they own namely Gleagle, Emgrand, Englon and, perhaps most importantly, Volvo.
If the later may be a familiar sound, the others need a bit of explaining. Gleagle, is short version of Global Eagle, and is the automakers global brand, while Emgrand offers luxury options. To make it easier think Toyota and Lexus. Englon on the other hand is a bit peculiar, while you’ve probably never heard of them you’ve almost certainly heard about the cars they make as the company is responsable for the latest line of London taxis.
As the Geely brand dissolves, the company will focus on assisting their existing dealerships achieve greater levels of profitability and service. Also, they will begin to increase the number of Emgrand dealerships from 200 up to 250.
