In Dubai where luxury cars are everywhere, what good cars has the dealer not seen?
But recently, an overseas dealer selling Chinese cars in Dubai came to domestic exhibitions, and was firmly won over by Zeekr. He stated directly, the technical iteration of Chinese cars has entered a new stage, traditional German luxury brands will hardly compete with Chinese brands like Zeekr anymore.
This sounds like politeness, but their actions are fiercer — he already has one Zeekr 9X, after Zeekr 8X launched, he turned around and blind-ordered two more.
This is the subtlest change happening in Chinese car exports: In the past, we actively "went out", now overseas quality dealers are starting to "reach out in reverse".
Hot sales overseas, not just a market feverGeely's latest disclosed overseas data is indeed confident.
This May, Geely Auto sales reached 238,000 units, achieving growth both year-on-year and month-on-month. Of which overseas exports exceeded 85,000 units, setting a historical high, year-on-year growth reached 184%.
Looking at the total amount alone is bright enough, but the deeper value lies in: This is not propped up by speculation in a single market, but blooms across the board.
In April, Geely overseas new energy sales year-on-year growth was 624.5%, consecutive first in Chinese new energy car export growth rate. North America, Asia, Europe, South America four continents are all picking up volume, multiple countries growth rate exceeded 300%.
Geely entered the Australian market only 14 months ago, vehicle delivery has broken through 10,000 units, becoming one of the fastest-growing Chinese car enterprises locally; Brazil market monthly sales rushed above 4,000 units, refreshing the local highest monthly sales record; Mexico market January to April cumulative sales exceeded 16,000 units, also set a historical high.
These markets are geographically dispersed, consumption habits, road environments, and policies/regulations vary greatly. Geely managing to run through simultaneously shows this wave of growth is by no means a chance hitting of a single trend.
Car models are also blooming in multiple points.
Geely EX2 in Mexico, Indonesia, Costa Rica and other markets, took first place in B-class hatchback new energy sales TOP1 of the first quarter; Geely EX5 in Australia, UAE, Uruguay and other countries, became the sales champion of the first quarter pure electric SUV-C market.
In the past, Chinese cars going overseas were often labeled with the value-for-money tag of "cheap, high configuration". And Geely now takes first place simultaneously in different markets and different niche categories, means products have truly invaded the car selection list of the local mainstream consumer group.
Zeekr Overthrows Model Y in AustraliaGeely's export wave this time is not just relying on ordinary models to move volume.
If Geely EX2 and EX5 are responsible for building a solid sales base, then Zeekr is responsible for another hard card: breaking the price ceiling of Chinese brands overseas.
In May, Zeekr brand delivery reached 34,377 units, reaching a new high. Of which, Zeekr 9 Series, 8 Series models share nearly 50%, brand unit transaction price year-on-year growth 52.4%, even exceeding traditional BBA.
High-end market is never shouted out, eventually needs real transaction prices to speak. Taking Australian market as an example, Zeekr 7X sales topped the list again, even surpassing the long-term dominant Tesla Model Y. Australia is not a virgin land for new energy, Tesla has cultivated deeply here for a long time, Zeekr can face off head-on and overtake, extremely valuable.
So, the Dubai dealer being moved by Zeekr is not an isolated little anecdote.
For many overseas users, Chinese cars have changed too fast in these years. In the past they might think Chinese cars just had high configuration, low price, but now truly sitting in the car, experiencing smart cockpit, tri-electric efficiency, chassis texture, luxury configuration and vehicle completion, feelings will be completely different.
Especially brands like Zeekr, no longer answering the question of "Can Chinese cars build new energy cars", but answering the question of "Can Chinese brands make high-end cars". This opened up more imagination for Geely's premium space overseas.
After cars sell explosively, logistics are the first to buckleAfter sales volume picks up, what is tested first is often not marketing, but delivery.
Overseas markets are not like domestic ones, new cars from factory to terminal, need to cross ports, sea freight, rail, customs clearance, distribution, dealer delivery and many other hurdles. Any blockage of capillaries will directly destroy user experience.
After "sellable", Geely's core task now is "supply-able".
To cope with the explosive overseas orders, Geely relies on Ningbo export hub, simultaneously activating Ro-Ro ships, container ships and international rail freight trains to carry out sea-land intermodal transport. Currently, Geely has added multiple transport routes, forming a capacity resource layout of 4 major rail ports, 6 major sea ports, and equipped with two self-owned Ro-Ro ships.
Meanwhile, Geely has also opened multiple cross-border transport special lines, continuously supplementing capacity resources, monthly can stably ship nearly 10,000 new cars to core European ports. China-Europe Railway Express Geely special train has also been operating normally, transport time compared to sea transport can be shortened by 40 days.
This turning point is very interesting: In the past, Chinese cars exports anxious about "how to sell out", while Geely now faces a sweet trouble "how to deliver cars faster".
This is exactly a microcosm of export logic iteration.
Early car exports were more like "trade business" one-off deals, on ship, sell to middlemen, task completed. But now different, overseas users buying Chinese cars, not only look at the product itself, but value delivery cycle, after-sales service, parts supply and warranty policy, they value whether the brand plans to cultivate deeply locally.
So, don't just stare at that 85,000 units export data of May. The real test is after cars sell explosively, can logistics deliver on time, after-sales can respond quickly. Geely this time is impressive, is it putting these logistics support ahead.
This is the mark of Chinese car companies entering the deep water zone of global competition.
