Geely Auto, a key BYD rival, primed to re-enter Singapore market
The firm is said to be in talks to appoint an agent from among the city-state’s big automotive groups
[SINGAPORE] One of China’s top-selling car brands – and a key rival to BYD – could re-enter Singapore soon.
Geely Auto, the eponymous mainstream car brand of Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings, is in the process of appointing an agent in the Republic.
The Business Times understands that Geely has been holding talks with major automotive distribution and retail groups in Singapore.
According to people with knowledge of the matter, Geely’s plan has aggressive sales targets rivalling that of market leader BYD and high expectations on capital expenditure for facilities, such as showrooms and service centres.
BT reached out to the company for comments but has yet to receive a response.
Return to the Lion City
Geely first entered the Singapore market in 2006 with Peter Kwee’s Group Exklusiv as agent.
Like other Chinese brands at the time, it sold in small numbers but made a quiet exit after a few years as higher Certificate of Entitlement prices stymied the sales of budget cars.
According to Land Transport Authority data, the brand saw a historical high of 505 cars registered in 2007, but this dwindled to 26 by 2010. Geely has not registered any authorised dealer units since then.
In 2025 and 2026, 42 and 217 Geely cars were registered as parallel imports, respectively.
Numerous Chinese car brands have entered the Singapore market in recent years, as electric-vehicle rebates and the cost-effectiveness of Chinese models have increased the popularity of such cars.
Most of the major brands from the largest Chinese carmakers are already present, including those from the wider Geely group, but not Geely Auto itself.
Geely Auto manufactures a wide range of vehicles, including EVs, plug-in hybrid EVs, conventional petrol-electric hybrids and petrol-powered cars.
Geely Automobile Holdings also has Geely Galaxy, Proton, LEVC, Radar Auto, Zeekr and Lynk & Co in its stable.
Geely Automobile Holdings is itself part of Zhejiang Geely Holding, which also owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Smart and commercial vehicle maker Farizon Auto.
Except for Lynk & Co, all those brands are already present in Singapore.
Automotive media outlet CnEVPost reported that among China automotive groups, BYD was top for global sales in August with 440,293 cars. Geely was fourth with 270,194, after SAIC and Chery.
China Passenger Car Association data shows that globally, as at the first half of 2026, Geely was the seventh-largest carmaker in the world by market share, below BYD in sixth place.
Toyota, Volkswagen and Kia-Hyundai were the top three.
From January to August, Geely’s EX2 fully electric compact hatchback was the best-selling car in its home market with 266,116 units sold, beating the Tesla Model Y and Li Auto i6.
Like its compatriots, Geely is continuing an aggressive global expansion to boost export sales as domestic numbers falter. It debuted in seven European markets this year, and is planning to enter Canada soon.
