Geely aims for 25 pct car sales growth in '09, no layoffs
SHANGHAI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Chinese car maker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd (0175.HK) aims to grow its car sales by 25 percent in 2009 despite a slowdown of the overall market.
Geely will also try to avoid any layoffs or suspend important projects this year, it said in a statement, without elaborating.
In the statement, Geely did not say how many cars it sold in 2008, but said its domestic auto sales grew 11.6 percent and exports jumped 79.8 percent this year.
It sold 200,849 cars in the first 11 months, according to official data. Company chairman Li Shufu told reporters in November he expected his firm to achieve its 2008 sales target of 230,000.
To help drive sales, Geely plans to launch eight new cars this year, including four upgraded models, it said.
After years of double-digit growth, car sales in the world's second-largest auto market slowed significantly, especially in the second half of 2008 as a weakening economy curbed demand.
The Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday that the government will issue supportive policies for its auto makers in the coming months to maintain roughly 10 percent growth in the industry in 2009.
In a separate statement, Geely said Everbright Bank has provided it a 1 billion yuan ($146 million) credit line to help supplement its cash flows and ease the funding needs of its dealers. ($1=6.829 Yuan) (Reporting by Fang Yan, Editing by Ken Wills)
