Where Are Geely Cars Built, And Can You Buy One In The US?
Geely didn’t make our list of EVs we wish were sold in the United States, but the Hangzhou, China-based automaker sold more than 2 million cars globally in 2024. Geely operates 22 factories in its home country, including facilities in Chengdu, Inzhong, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Taizhou. While most of Geely’s cars are currently built in China, it also has three assembly plants and more than a dozen research and development and design centers scattered around the world. Li Shufu founded Geely in 1986 to make refrigerator parts and pivoted the company into auto production by the end of the century. Geely made Chinese business history when in 2001 it became the nation’s first privately-owned car company. Things then began to move fast for Geely: parent company Geely Holding Group purchased Volvo in 2010, made the Fortune 500 in 2012, and acquired a controlling stake in Lotus in 2017.
The next year, Geely Holding bought nearly a 10% stake in Daimler Auto Group. Geely’s currently held automotive brands include ZEEKR, Volvo Cars, Lynk & Co, Lotus, Polestar, and Cao Cao Mobility, an urban multi-format service that includes driverless on-demand rides, transportation for people with disabilities, and traditional car sharing. By May of 2024, Geely had become the world’s 10th-best selling auto manufacturer. Of the 730,000 Geely cars sold during the first quarter of that year, more than a third were plug-in New Energy Vehicles (NEVs); a category that in China includes battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). Surprisingly, Geely managed to crack the global top 10 without selling a single car from its flagship brand in the United States.
Cars from other Geely Group brands are available in the U.S.
Changes to the U.S. tax code classifying China as a Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) and Trump administration tariffs are the biggest roadblocks keeping Geely-branded cars off the U.S. market, but other Geely Group models are available to American buyers. The Volvo XC90 shown above plays in the luxury mid-size crossover SUV segment, going up against rivals like the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5. The XC90 is available with three different engines, all mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive system. The four-cylinder hybrid in the B5 variant makes 247 horsepower, a turbocharger boosts the B6’s to 295 horsepower, and the plug-in hybrid B8 has a 455 horsepower mill. In our review of the 2025 Volvo XC 90, we found it capable and stylish and scored it 9/10 overall.
If you want something a little less practical, the 2025 Lotus Emira is another Geely Group-owned vehicle that can be purchased in the U.S. Lotus has backed off on stated plans to take its fleet all-electric by 2028, which is good news for fans of the Emira’s internal combustion engines. The mid-engine Emira can be fitted with a supercharged 3.5-liter Toyota V6 or a 2.0-liter turbocharged AMG inline-four, both of which produce 400 horsepower. In our review of the four-cylinder turbo Emira, we found that to be the preferred powerplant option.
