Chinese automaker Geely's short-term expansion strategy could boost the Brazilian electric vehicle (EV) market on the back of its aggressive sales approach outside of China.
Geely, which was the world's seventh best-selling auto brand in 2025, announced on 22 January a five-year expansion framework through 2030 focused on growth outside of China.
The automaker is now targeting global sales of over 6.5mn vehicles/yr by the end of 2030, including passenger and commercial vehicles, with EVs making up 75pc of total volumes. Sales outside of China are expected to account for at least one third of the total, or roughly 2.2mn units.
Geely's goal is to reach the top five of best-selling brands in the world, amassing revenue of 1 trillion yuan ($143.4bn)/yr by the end of 2030 — and Brazil could play a large role in that.
Geely returned to the Brazilian market after a nine-year hiatus with the launch of two fully electric (BEV) models: an SUV called EX5, and the EX2, a comparatively affordable city car. The EX2, which was China's best-selling vehicle in 2025, debuted in Brazil in November and quickly became the country's third best-selling BEV, propelling Geely to second place among BEV brands, behind only BYD.
The Geely conglomerate also markets cars under the Volvo and Zeekr brands in Brazil. Overall, the group sold 13,658 units in 2025, but that is expected to rise to over 35,000 as acceptance rates of Geely-branded vehicles continues to grow, according to specialized consulting firm Bright. The Geely brand alone will account for over 71pc of that at 25,000 units in 2026, an increase of over seven-fold from 3,368 units in 2025, Bright said.
And there is enough demand to support the growth, with analysts expecting EV sales in Brazil to more than double to as many as 600,000 units in 2026, including around 270,000 units from Chinese automakers, which will also begin to manufacture vehicles in the country.
Geely plans to assemble both models in Brazil following its acquisition of a 26.4pc stake in Renault's Brazilian operations and securing access to the French automaker's factory in the country.
It is unclear how many vehicles Geely will assemble in Brazil. Renault's Brazil factory can produce 320,000 vehicles/yr, but it only made 139,214 units in 2024, according to the company's sustainability report.
Chinese brands often struggle in their early months in Brazil because of limited dealership coverage. Geely may have avoided this problem by using Renault's nationwide network, selling vehicles in 19 states within just two months. BYD, now Brazil's fifth best-selling brand, took more than a year to reach that milestone.
If current trends persist, Brazil's EV sales could increase to 1.9mn in 2030, according to Bright.
