The founder of Geely, a Chinese automaker, enters the smartphone market


Another Chinese Brand? We wish other countries engage in smartphone production as well.

Geely Global Website

Chinese automaker Geely is planning to produce smartphones, as if there’s not enough Chinese manufacturers in the market already. Although, competition is a good thing no matter what country the company originated.

While automakers entering the smartphone market isn’t entirely new (Hyundai did it for a while, and Mitsubishi also manufactured phones in Japan back then), Geely wanted to be the first Chinese automaker to manufacture mainstream smartphones. First in China, then globally.

There is a close connection in technologies within intelligent vehicle cockpits and smartphone technologies,” Eric Li, founder of Geely, said in the statement. “The major trend in the coming future is to create user ecosystems across borders and provide users with a more convenient, smarter and seamlessly connected multi-screen experience.”

Though while Eric Li, aka Li Shufu, is entering the market, the smartphone lineup will have a different brand name and may not even be associated with Geely. It’s a similar situation for most BBK brands. Geely has plans for electric vehicles and even futuristic flying cars, but the founder wanted to go to a sector that is highly competitive, but also with low manufacturing costs. Although in China, Chinese brands waned and brands like Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi have dominated the sector.

Shipments of Smartphones in China reached 330 million, a decline of about 11% as users are now keeping their new phones and only upgrade when necessary, as smartphone technologies improve, there’s no need to buy a phone every few months or every year.

This new company will be headquartered in Wuhan. Yes that same place where COVID-19 originated; and this new currently unnamed company will focus on “integrating global technologies and resources to develop premium smart devices including smart phones to global consumers,” according to Geely in a press statement.

Source: CNBC, Nekkei Asia