Geely Automobile has offered 10 Emgrand EC8 as official vehicles used for reception work to China-Arab States Workshop on Finance Cooperation 2012, which is in progress in Yinchuan, the capital city of Ningxia, China, according to reports from the Workshop. The automaker aims to promote exchange and cooperation with Arabian countries in the field of economy and trade.

According to statistics released by Geely, the company had exported 57,000 units to overseas markets in the past eight months of this year, up 205 percent over year-ago. In particular, more than 24,000 units were sold in the Arab world, 43 percent of the total exports and up 500 percent over year-ago. It has entered eight Arabic markets, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Oman and Kuwait. Next month, it will launch new cars in Egypt, which will be the ninth Arabic market Geely has market share.
Geely entered the Arabian market in 2003, when Geely signed a cooperation agreement with the Syria-based company Mallouk, allowing Geely to export cars to the country. That was also the first time Geely had sold cars in a foreign market. In the following eight years, the Chinese homegrown carmaker expanded into Eastern Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Central Asia and at the same time grew in Syria. In 2010, it exported 100 Emgrand cars to Syria for the first time, marking its first move to introduce premium models to the Middle East. It sold 1,694 units in Syria in the year and signed another agreement with Mallouk on business in Jordan's automotive market.

In May of 2011, Geely reached a cooperation agreement with Oman. In September, it launched four models, including the Emgrand EC7, the EC7-RV, the EC8 and the Panda in Saudi Arabia, and achieved a sales volume of 3,800 units within three months. It planned to export 10,000 units to the country in the first eight months of 2012 and now the target is expected to be outnumbered , to15,000 units.

Geely's business partner in Saudi Arabia is Haji Husein Alireza & Co., Ltd, a renowned automobile dealer with a hundred years' history. Haji, which once cooperated with several famous manufacturers like Mazda, Mercury and Aston Martin, has facilitated Geely in obtaining a strong foothold in the country with its mature marketing and service network.

The Chinese carmaker also delivered an impressive performance in Iraq, which just endured the war a few years ago. It sold 2,100 units in the market in 2010, and increased to 3,695 in 2011, up 76 percent over year-ago. It has a greater progress this year with the sales in the past eight months reaching 13,021 units, representing a 613-percent growth over year-ago.

Egypt, as a major Arabian country, will be Geely's next target, which is expected to boost the automaker's business in the whole Arab world. It plans to launch new models in the market next month. In the new market, it will collaborate with GB Auto, Egypt's biggest listed automobile assembler and the partnership has agreed to assemble cars in Egypt using completely-knocked-down (CKD) kits supplied by Geely. The first model they will assemble is the Emgrand EC7, with a designed capacity of 30,000 units per year. Their assembled products are aimed to meet the market demands of Egypt and expected to reach North Africa and the Middle East.

Geely's export performance has been illustrated by its sales volume in the Arab world. Its total exports of this year are expected to exceed 80,000 units since its overseas business has grown into a rapid period due to its long-term quality strategy, commented Dr. Zhang Lin, Vice President of Geely.