華裔美國人
January 7, 2026
Alex KiersteinGeely brought Zeekr and Lynk & Co. models to CES and hinted at future US sales.
Geely attended CES 2026 and dropped a relatively major, if also completely unsurprising, announcement: It intends to sell vehicles from some of its home-market brands in the US. The unsurprising part is twofold. One is that it’s been widely expected that Geely, which is not only a brand but a holding company with a portfolio of brands, would bring its well-reviewed Lynk & Co. and Zeekr vehicles here. The second aspect is that Geely already sells cars here. Cars related to those same Lynk & Co. and Zeekr vehicles.
Three brands’ worth, in fact: Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus. All three of which, you might recall, are not doing all that great in the US market. In fact, Brett Berk just sat down with Luis Rezende, Volvo’s new president of the Americas, to discuss Volvo’s quasi-existential crisis here. That’s well worth a read, especially if you’re interested in Geely’s US plans, since the takeaway is that Volvo’s survival is predicated on Geely’s willingness to continue to invest in the brand.
And will that spending continue if Geely wants to build up its Zeekr and Lynk & Co. brands here? I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a zero-sum game; the success of Geely’s Chinese brands doesn’t have to come at the expense of Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus. But it’s a consideration. The fact that Polestar is also experiencing significant losses and tariff pressures doesn’t help.
Then there’s Lotus. It’s as precarious as it’s ever been—always been.
But there’s some good news here for Geely. Volvo has an underutilized facility in South Carolina that can produce 150,000 vehicles a year but is operating at only 20% capacity, at least until XC60 production starts there. Even with the XC60, which sells in the mid-30,000 units per year range, the plant will have excess capacity.
Many Volvo, Polestar, and Lynk & Co. EVs use the Volvo-developed SPA2 platform (like the EX90), and even more models within the Geely umbrella use the flexible CMA architecture (which can support internal combustion, hybrid, and EV powertrains). CMA is used on the Polestar 2 and Volvo XC40, for example.
A Geely rep told Autoline Detroit at CES that the company sees demand for “affordable premium, luxury vehicles,” and plans to make an official announcement within 2 to 3 years, and that Zeekr and Lynk & Co. seem best positioned for US consumers.
A lot can happen in 24 to 36 months, but Geely’s US manufacturing footprint, existing dealer network, and experience in our market through its subsidiary brands that are already sold here give it a significant advantage over other Chinese companies looking to break through. These are advantages that even a juggernaut like BYD, which is doing quite well in Europe, can’t claim. If Geely gets a first-mover advantage in this way, perhaps BYD might need to consider establishing a US beachhead through an existing brand.
I hear Stellantis has a few brands that are, uh, underutilized.
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