Geely chases Chery with plan for 46,000 UK sales in 2027

Chinese car maker Geely has ambitions to double its fleet and retail sales next year, backed by an expanded team of specialists and a pipeline of new electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) product launches. That’s according to Alan Barrett, the company’s new head of fleet and used car sales, who was appointed in July having spent ten years in senior fleet roles at Toyota GB. Geely has expanded quickly since it launched in the UK October 2025 with only one model – the EX5 electric SUV – and full independence from sister brands Volvo Cars, Lotus, Smart, LEVC and Farizon Auto. It now has three products, from the EX2 electric B-segment hatchback to the Starray PHEV large SUV, UK headquarters in Coventry, a network of 100 dealers selected for scale and in-house fleet expertise, and nationwide overnight parts supply to minimise repair times – an important aspect for fleets. Barrett told Autocar that the company is expecting to sell 20,000 cars in the UK by the end of the year, 6000 of which have gone into end-user fleets (company car and salary sacrifice schemes), supported by building relationships with brokers and leasing companies and attending events to get drivers behind the wheel. Within 12 months, the Geely line-up is available through all of the UK’s largest leasing and rental companies and has secured high-volume deals with salary sacrifice providers Tusker and Octopus. It’s about to become available through the Crown Commercial Framework, broadening its opportunities with public sector fleets, while an approved used car scheme launch is imminent. “We’ve gone from being a new entrant to being recognised and trusted in the industry, selling across multiple channels in the public and private sectors. That comes down to our people; we’ve got a really strong team here, expertise in the right channels, we’ve created partnerships in the industry, and it’s the [dealer] network as well,” he said. “We really focused heavily in the first half of the year on creating long standing partnerships. Then in the second half of the year, we focused on getting the right people in the right jobs and letting them get on with it.” For 2027, the ambition is to more than double its UK sales to 46,000 units, with similar increases in fleet and retail volume (each of which accounts for around 50% of the total) as the line-up doubles from three to six models and Geely scales up its own team to meet that demand. All three newcomers are fleet-relevant. The Monjaro PHEV SUV is confirmed, set to be followed by a high-performance electric fastback (likely to be the Galaxy E8) and another product, which could be derived from the KO11 luxury PHEV SUV recently revealed at the Paris motor show. That range will be supported by a new head of fleet marketing, with plans to add full-time roles for public sector and rental, and at least two corporate sales managers. The used car team will also scale up ready for early deliveries to start coming back into the network, while Geely will support dealers as they engage with local small to medium enterprises (SMEs). “Customers are more open-minded than ever before, and I think that shift in perception of the quality of Chinese cars is creating big opportunities for Geely. My priority for 2027 is continuing the growth trajectory that we've been on [and] establishing ourselves as a mainstream brand,” said Barrett. “You can't double the volume without there being an impact on people, so we're going to double the number of people that we've got in our fleet team. We'll have more coverage across the major channels, but also sales support areas for dealers, brokers, customers, etcetera. It’s really about growth supported by new products, more people and getting the channel mix right.”

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Geely chases Chery with plan for 46,000 UK sales in 2027

Chinese brand aims to more than double sales next year, backed by three new cars and big fleet push

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Geely chases Chery with plan for 46,000 UK sales in 2027

Chinese brand aims to more than double sales next year, backed by three new cars and big fleet push

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