While not exactly a well-known name in much of the West, the Geely Group, a member of Zhejiang Geely Holding, operates like the rough equivalent of General Motors for the Chinese Market. In other words, Zhejiang Geely Holding, or simply ZGH, functions as an umbrella for several manufacturers, each with their own unique history and specialization.
It’s a fairly new group as far as the automotive sector goes; it was founded in 1986 as a refrigerator parts manufacturer by Chinese entrepreneur Eric Li, AKA Ki Shufu, effectively working out of shacks by most car manufacturers’ standards. In 1994, the nascent company expanded into the motorcycle industry, producing motorized scooters out of its location in Zhejiang Province, China. The Geely Group was established two years later to consolidate these industries under one banner, the name “Geely” meaning “Auspicious” in Mandarin, and entered the automotive sector in 1997. The company officially became the first privately-owned carmaker in China in 2001, and has since ballooned into the international scene with multiple manufacturers under its envelope.
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