Why does Li Shufu of Geely want to step back behind the scenes?

Li Shufu's life strategy has always been "half a step ahead": he retreats when others are not yet aware of the risks, and attacks when others are still hesitating.

On the evening of August 17, 2026, Geely Auto released a "predictable" interim performance report: its revenue in the first half of the year reached 173.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15%; core attributable net profit was 9.68 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 46%. What is more notable than the figures is the management adjustment announced on the same day: effective from August 18, Li Shufu has resigned as Chairman and Executive Director of the Board of Geely Automobile Holdings Limited, and was appointed "Lifetime Honorary Chairman"; An Conghui takes over as Chairman of the Board, and Gan Jiayue serves as Chief Executive Officer. Li Shufu will continue to serve as Chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

At the performance briefing, Gui Shengyue set the tone with one sentence: "This marks that Geely Auto has moved from the founder-driven entrepreneurial and development stage to a mature stage driven by systems and teams."

This is not a simple personnel change, but a strategic transformation that has been brewing for many years.

From 120 Yuan to a Trillion-Yuan Empire: Four Decades of a Man from Taizhou

To understand why Li Shufu chose to step back behind the scenes at this moment, one must first understand how he fought his way up from the mountain villages in Taizhou.

In 1982, 19-year-old Li Shufu took 120 yuan given by his father and started an "unlicensed photo taking" business on the streets of Taizhou. Half a year later, he earned 1,000 yuan and opened a photo studio. During the photo developing process, he found that gold and silver could be separated and extracted from waste using chemical potions, so he closed the photo studio and specialized in this business that "others could not do". This was the first time he showed his sharp sense for "niche opportunities".

In 1984, Li Shufu and his brothers co-founded Huangyan Shiqu Refrigerator Parts Factory. Two years later, he set up the Arctic Flower Refrigerator Factory, whose products once became a well-known brand in the industry. In 1989, 26-year-old Li Shufu was already a multimillionaire. But in the same year, the state implemented designated production of refrigerators, and Arctic Flower, with a private background, was not selected, forcing Li Shufu to exit the market. This experience taught him a profound lesson: success without institutional guarantee can be taken away at any time.

In 1992, when the Hainan real estate boom was at its peak, Li Shufu plunged into the market with tens of millions of yuan, only to end up "losing all tens of millions of yuan, almost unable to make it back home". He later summed up the lesson: I can only engage in the real economy.

In 1994, when the motorcycle business was booming, Li Shufu made a "crazy" decision — to make cars. He expropriated 850 mu of land in Linhai City, and built an automobile industrial park under the guise of manufacturing motorcycles. On August 8, 1998, the first Geely Haoqing without a "production license" rolled off the assembly line. In 2001, Geely finally obtained the qualification for sedan production, becoming the first private sedan enterprise in China. In 2005, Geely was listed in Hong Kong (0175.HK). In 2010, Li Shufu acquired Volvo in a "snake swallows elephant" move, shocking the global automotive industry.

From photo studio to refrigerator factory, from motorcycle to automobile, from small domestic factory to cross-border M&A — every leap of Li Shufu finds possibilities where "others think it is impossible". This trait of daring to be the first has made Geely what it is today, and also defined Li Shufu himself.

Life Strategic Layout: From the "Ningbo Declaration" to the "Taizhou Declaration"

If the first 20 years of his entrepreneurship were Li Shufu's "conquering the world" stage, then in the past 17 years, he has been making layouts for "stabilizing the world".

In 2007, Li Shufu released the "Ningbo Declaration", proposing "no price war, but wars on technology, quality, service and ethics", pushing Geely to transform from a "low-price strategy" to "technology leadership". In the following 17 years, Geely successively acquired Volvo, took a stake in Daimler, acquired Proton and Lotus, incubated brands such as Zeekr and Lynk & Co, and built a huge business footprint spanning the globe.

However, the scale expansion also brought side effects: brand overlap, internal resource consumption, complex related transactions, and ambiguous governance structure. On September 20, 2024, at the Taizhou International Automotive Industry Expo, Li Shufu released the "Taizhou Declaration", putting forward five major initiatives of "strategic focus, strategic integration, strategic synergy, strategic stability, and strategic talents", marking that Geely has officially shifted from "strategic expansion" to "strategic focus".

Exactly 17 years have passed from the "Ningbo Declaration" to the "Taizhou Declaration". During these 17 years, Li Shufu completed his transformation from an "entrepreneur" to a "strategist". He no longer pursues "having more children to fight better", but wants to "punch with one fist" — concentrate superior resources to strengthen Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (0175.HK), the core listed platform.

In June 2026, Li Shufu clearly stated at the China Automobile Chongqing Forum that he will "orderly shut down, merge and restructure redundant entities under Geely Automobile Group Co., Ltd., and concentrate superior resources to strengthen the core listed platform of Geely Automobile Holdings Limited". Two months later, he resigned as Chairman of the Board of the listed company — this is no coincidence, but the final implementation of the "Taizhou Declaration".

Li Shufu's life strategy has always been "half a step ahead": he retreats when others are not yet aware of the risks, and attacks when others are still hesitating. The failure in Hainan's real estate market made him anchor the real economy, the failure of Arctic Flower made him attach importance to systems, and today's stepping back behind the scenes is another "half a step ahead" move by him at the corporate governance level.

Why Not Return to A-shares: The Globalization Chess Game of the Hong Kong Stock Market

Many people ask: Why doesn't Geely return to the A-share market? The answer lies in Geely's globalization genes.

First of all, Geely Auto (0175.HK), as a Hong Kong listed company, has long been the core capital platform for Geely's globalization. Its listing in Hong Kong in 2005 provided an international financing channel and compliance framework for Geely's subsequent overseas M&A (Volvo, Daimler, etc.). The regulatory system, investor structure and information disclosure requirements of the Hong Kong stock market are more in line with the governance needs of a multinational enterprise.

Secondly, Geely Holding Group has extremely complex business lines: passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, mobility technology, new energy industry chain, financial supporting services, low-orbit satellites... If it forcibly returns to the A-share market, it will face serious issues of horizontal competition and related transactions. The A-share market's requirements for the independence and business clarity of listed companies have natural tension with Geely's architecture of "one holding platform, multiple business segments".

More importantly, what Li Shufu wants to achieve is "One Geely" — through the unified platform of 0175.HK, integrate brands including Zeekr, Lynk & Co, Geely Galaxy and Geely China Star, and realize global synergy with Volvo and Lotus. The openness and flexibility of the Hong Kong stock market platform are exactly the infrastructure to achieve this strategy.

Returning to the A-share market may bring higher valuation premium, but Li Shufu obviously values governance efficiency and global synergy more. This is not short-term capital arbitrage, but long-term strategic determination.

Empowerment Across Segments: The Synergy Logic of "One Geely"

Please note: Mr. Li Shufu continues to serve as Chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. The business footprint of Geely Holding Group is one of the most complex ecosystems in China's automotive industry.

In the passenger vehicle sector, independent brands have formed a clear brand matrix: Geely Galaxy and Geely China Star cover the mainstream 100,000-200,000 yuan market, Lynk & Co focuses on the 200,000-300,000 yuan hybrid and fuel vehicle segment, and Zeekr specializes in high-end intelligent electric vehicles above 300,000 yuan. In February 2025, Zeekr completed the acquisition of Lynk & Co, Zeekr Technology Group was established, and An Conghui served as Chairman and CEO. After the integration, the R&D expense ratio decreased by 1.8 percentage points year on year, and the battery cost was reduced by 12%.

At the global brand level, Volvo provides safety technology endorsement and access to European and American markets, Lotus brings supercar genes and aerodynamic technology, Proton opens up the Southeast Asian market, and Polestar lays out high-end pure electric vehicles. These brands are not isolated "acquired assets", but realize in-depth sharing of R&D, supply chain and manufacturing platforms through the "One Geely" strategy.

At the technology ecosystem level, Geely has laid out cutting-edge fields such as automotive-grade chips, low-orbit satellites, intelligent driving (Qianli Haohan Intelligent Driving), and intelligent cockpit (Flyme Auto). In 2026, Geely put forward the positioning of "leader in global AI intelligent vehicles", and plans to release the advanced version of WAM World Action Model.

In the commercial vehicle and mobility sector, businesses including Remote New Energy Commercial Vehicle and Caocao Mobility form a pattern of "simultaneous development of passenger and commercial vehicles" with the passenger vehicle business. The "sky-ground integration" vision proposed in the "Taizhou Declaration" — low-orbit satellite constellations providing communication and navigation support for intelligent vehicles — further expands Geely's boundary from "making cars" to "building an ecosystem".

The essence of "One Geely" is to allow every business segment to draw strength from other segments: Zeekr expands its reach to lower-tier markets via Lynk & Co's channels, Lynk & Co upgrades its technology via Zeekr's pure electric technology, Geely's own brand increases its premium via Volvo's safety label, and overseas businesses expand rapidly via local factories of Proton, Renault and Ford.

Professional Managers Taking Over: From "Rule by Man" to "Rule by System"

There is another deep reason why Li Shufu chose to hand over the baton at this moment: Geely has reached the critical point where it must shift from "founder-driven" to "system-driven".

An Conghui is a back bone talent cultivated within the Geely system who "has both virtue and talent, excels in both character and capability, is firm in dedication and has super willpower" — this is the evaluation from Li Shufu himself. He has long served as CEO of Geely Holding Group, coordinating global resources. His appointment as Chairman of the listed company can directly break down the barriers between the controlling shareholder and the listed platform.

The 45-year-old Gan Jiayue, as Chief Executive Officer, is responsible for the daily operation of the four major brands: Geely Galaxy, Geely China Star, Zeekr and Lynk & Co. He is a technical executive by background, who has led the R&D of multiple best-selling models, which is strategically aligned with Zeekr's high-end intelligent positioning.

Gui Shengyue's evaluation hits the nail on the head: "The shift of an enterprise from relying on personal charisma and authority to relying on organizational systems and talent echelons means more transparent governance, more professional decision-making and more scientific management. For internal talents, it is also a signal that the career ceiling has been broken."

This is not a handover from a family business owner to his children, but a real institutional succession by professional managers. Li Shufu only serves as Chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and 0175.HK will be the only listed company where An Conghui serves as Chairman — this "one person, one platform" arrangement completely eliminates the chaos of multiple entities and multiple platforms fighting their own battles in the past.

Li Shufu's Next Stop: New Battlefield for a Strategist

Then, what will the step-back Li Shufu focus his energy on?

First, top-level design of the globalization strategy. In the first half of 2026, Geely Auto's overseas sales reached 474,200 units, a year-on-year increase of 158%, exceeding the total export volume of the whole year of 2025. Geely raised its full-year overseas sales target from 640,000 units to 920,000 units, and strives to hit 1 million units. An Conghui clearly stated that two thirds of the sales will come from overseas markets in the long run. As Chairman of the holding group, Li Shufu will continue to lead overseas M&A, local production layout (12 overseas factories are currently in operation, with a planned production capacity of over 840,000 units by the end of the year) and global partnership relations (Volvo, Proton, Renault, Ford, etc.).

Second, capital operation of the technology ecosystem. Low-orbit satellites, automotive-grade chips, intelligent driving, alcohol-hydrogen energy... These cutting-edge fields require long-term capital investment and strategic patience. Li Shufu is good at finding opportunities in places that "others cannot handle", and these hard technologies are exactly his new battlefield.

Third, governance reform at the group level. "Orderly shutting down, merging and restructuring redundant entities" is a systematic project, involving equity restructuring, personnel adjustment and business consolidation of hundreds of subsidiaries. This requires the authority of the top decision-maker to push forward, while An Conghui and Gan Jiayue are responsible for implementation and delivery.

Fourth, inheritance of talents and culture. The "Taizhou Declaration" lists "strategic talents" as one of the five major initiatives, proposing that "everyone is a talent, and everyone can become a talent". Since Li Shufu started his business at the age of 19, his most valuable asset is not a certain brand or a certain production line, but the organizational capability of "daring to think and act, being capable of fighting tough battles" that he has built personally. His task is to institutionalize this capability and make it replicable.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Liujiu Finance" (ID: liujiucaijing69), author: Jin Jun, authorized for release by 36Kr.