(Yicai Global) Feb. 24 -- Chinese car giant Geely Automobile Holdings yesterday unveiled a new mid-to-high-end new energy vehicle brand, Geely Galaxy.

Geely will put seven Geely Galaxy models into the market by 2025 -- three this year, three next year, and one in 2025 -- The Paper reported today, citing the Hangzhou-based automaker. Deliveries of the first model, the L7, will start in the second quarter.

Two types of Geely Galaxy will be available: electric hybrid and pure electric. The hybrid line will cover smart hybrid cars from class A0 to class B, while the pure electric line will cover smart pure electric vehicles from class A to class E.

Though Geely achieved significant NEV sales growth last year, its Jihe-branded cars are priced below CNY200,000 (USD28,880), and its Zeekr-branded vehicles are priced at more than CNY300,000, completely missing the mid-to-high end market.

Because of intense competition with the NEV brands under BYD and Changan Automobile, Geely is gradually losing its first-mover advantages in self-owned brands, with sales under great pressure, The Paper cited industry insiders as saying.

Geely was the leader and best-seller among China’s independent brands in the fuel-powered car era. But with BYD's rapid growth supported by NEVs, Geely's sales have become less impressive.

Last year, Geely's retail sales ranked fifth nationwide, behind BYD, Changan Auto, Shanghai Volkswagen, and FAW-Volkswagen, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. Geely's annual growth rate was only 1.8 percent, versus 149 percent for BYD and 13.8 percent for Changan Auto.

In terms of NEV sales, Geely ranked fourth after BYD, SAIC-GM-Wuling, and Tesla, with 304,900 units sold last year, an increase of 278 percent from 2021, CPCA data showed.

Editor: Futura Costaglione