Geely aims to be bigger than Toyota, Peugeot and Vauxhall in the UK by 2030

Geely has big ambitions for the UK, as bosses at the Chinese brand have revealed to Auto Express that it will bring no fewer than seven models to our shores over the next two years, with the ultimate goal of selling 100,000 cars per year by 2030.

If it does manage to reach that milestone, Geely would be among the most popular car brands in the UK. Only five manufacturers managed to shift more than 100,000 new cars last year – Audi, BMW, Ford, Kia and Volkswagen – while Toyota, Peugeot and Vauxhall all sold between 80,000 to 90,000 models each. 

Geely only sold 478 cars in 2025, although that was with just one model – the EX5 electric SUV, which you can currently save up to £5,000 on through our Buy A Car service – and it didn’t start taking orders until the final months of the year. Even so, the newcomer still managed to shift more product than fellow Chinese brand Changan (357 cars sold) and wasn’t that far behind another, XPeng (900 cars sold), which had a head start having launched here back in the spring.

Meanwhile BYD – to date the most successful of the Chinese brands to take on the UK market, and which only came here in 2023 – sold 51,422 cars in 2025. That was a near 600% increase on the year prior, when it sold 8,788.

Geely’s targets for 2026 are to have 100 dealerships established across the country and sell 20,000 cars. The introduction of two new models will certainly help with the latter. The first is the Starray: a plug-in hybrid family SUV and Kia Sportage challenger that will go on sale in February, with prices starting from £29,990.

Following on its heels this summer will be the EX2 electric hatchback. It was the biggest-selling in China last year and could steal sales away from the Renault 5, as well as other small EVs. We expect prices to start in the region of £20,000.

Then, in 2027, Geely will launch a larger plug-in hybrid SUV that’ll be available with five or seven seats. This is likely the Galaxy Starship 7 that Geely sells in China, and would be the brand’s rival to the Skoda Kodiaq and Chery Tiggo 9. Next will be a small SUV offered with a choice of hybrid, PHEV and electric power, followed by an all-electric saloon.

The final model confirmed for the UK at the moment is a rugged 4x4 that’s due in 2028 and will be looking to take on the Land Rover Defender, Toyota Land Cruiser and potentially the Mercedes G-Class. 

We assume all the cars in Geely’s roadmap for the UK will have been launched in China first, although bosses have told us that the company is developing new models for specific regions including Europe and South America.

Geely is also working with Lotus – a member of the wider Geely Auto family, which also includes Volvo and Polestar – to tune its cars for UK roads. “One of the strengths we have is being part of a broader family of tried-and-trusted, well established brands in the automotive space,” chief marketing officer for Geely UK, Mark Blundell, told Auto Express. “It helps accelerate the brand recognition, and also the trust and the credibility of what we’re doing.”

If that wasn’t enough, the company’s managing director in the UK, Mike Yang, says it’s “very possible” Geely could produce cars here in Britain. “From my perspective and Geely’s perspective, local production is an option,” Yang stated.

However, he caveated that by saying “to produce cars here [in China] and there [in the UK] is not the target. The target is the customer’s experience and satisfaction. So it is a question that will be determined by the efficiency and costs.”

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