The online signing ceremony was held on Thursday between the President of Manignom Auto Group, Mr Souksamone Sihathep, and the General Manager of Geely Automative International Corporation, Mr Jun Song.
The event was witnessed by the board of directors from both companies.
This agreement will allow the Manignom Auto Group to strengthen its business in passenger car section with the cooperation with the No.1 Chinese Brand. This will increase the competitiveness of the passenger car market of Manignom Group in 2021, as well as offer a new alternative to people who are interested in vehicle innovations and mobility experience that exceeds expectations.
The signing of this agreement will make Manignom Group to expand its business of parsenger car distributorship in Lao PDR apart from being a dealer but Exclusive in Lao PDR for General Motor Group such as Chevrolet and Cadillac since 2012) Excluding heavy equipment & truck types including South Korean brands such as Hyundai, Daewoo, Soosan, Dongyang. And from China such as Shantui, Tongly, etc., which will increase the competitiveness of the passenger car market of the Manignom Group in 2021, as well as a new alternative for the people. Interested in new innovation vehicles of the GEELY brand that will be brought to the Lao market at an affordable price with comprehensive after-sales service. Including a plan to expand branches to other provinces throughout the country in the near term
Geely Auto is a core subsidiary of Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding), a global automotive group with operations spanning the automotive value chain, from research, development and design to production, sales and servicing. Established in 1986 and entering the automotive industry in 1997, Geely Holding has since expanded significantly with controlling stakes in many established international brands and partnerships, such as 99% ownership of Volvo, a 51% controlling-stake in Lotus and a 9.7% stake in Daimler AG. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz and Geely Holding announced formal establishment of the global joint venture “smart Automobile Co., Ltd.” for the smart brand.
Geely Holding manages several leading brands including Geely Auto, Volvo, Lynk & Co, Lotus, Polestar, Proton Cars, Lotus, Geometry and London Taxi, operates over 40 manufacturing and assembly plants, 8 R&D centres, and 8 design centres across North America, Europe, China, and South East Asia. Through the support of Geely Holding, brands under the Group’s management sold over 2.1 million vehicles globally in 2020. In 2020, Geely Auto’s Hong Kong-listed holding company including Lynk & Co and Geometry reported 2020 sales of 1.32 million units., the Geely Auto brand increased its market share and retained its position as the best-selling Chinese brand for the fourth consecutive year. The brand passed a historic milestone with its 10 millionth vehicle sold, a first for a Chinese auto brand.
Geely Holding has been listed in the 2020 Fortune Global 500 for the past nine consecutive year, ranking 243rd with revenues of US$47.8 billion in 2020. Since first entering the Fortune Global 500 in 2012, Geely Holding has risen over 200 places. It was able to show the potential of international brand from China to the world.
Mr Souksamone Sihathep remarked, “Manignom Auto Group has made an effort to highlight the potential and competitiveness in the world market of new branded cars to be added to compete in the Lao market. Geely has responded to all those requirements in terms of proven new technology from Volvo’s joint development, as well as global sales that no Chinese brand has ever achieved before.”
Big sales volume of Geely in the past years is a guarantee of innovation that is proven. It is competitive, support from parent company from China, as well as GEELY dealer partners in Asia and around the world, products covering all segments of the car market, including new technologies like EV Car (electric car) that in the future will be brought to Laos as well according to market demand,” Mr. Suksamon Sihathep, President of Manignom Group of Companies, told reporters on the day of the contract signing ceremony.
“First, we are very glad to have everyone join in this ceremony today. Today is the seventh day of the Chinese lunar new year, but is the first working day after the Chinese New Year and also an auspicious day according to Chinese traditions as well. First of all, we would like to thank the team of Manignom Auto Group for their long-term cooperation with Geely. With Manignom’s hard work and efforts over the past several months after several rounds of discussions with both parties, we now have an appointment for the signing ceremony of Geely’s official dealer contract as we trust the company and its professional staff that Manignom will bring Geely success,” Mr Jun Song said.
Under the global epidemic, challenges and opportunities coexist in the automotive industry. With Geely’s overseas strategy pushing forward and gradual introduction of the 4.0 era of products to the world, the power of Geely’s brand and products continues to increase. In 2020, total sales of Geely brands reach 2.1 million units, with 73,000 overseas sales, 25 percent increase. In the rapid growth process, we are looking for partners who remain in management, quality and similarly value growth. With this background, the cooperation between Manignom and Geely becomes more important. As a trusted partner for the strength and many years of automotive sales experience belonging to Manignom Auto Group, we will go forward and develop deeply in the Lao market together to deliver innovative, scientific and technology to Lao consumers and thoughtful service , he said
Manignom Auto Group will build a Geely showroom with Class-A facilities, to match Geely’s standards. This will come up at the Sidamduan intersection and is scheduled for completion in the next seven months from the date of signing. During this phase, Manignom may import Geely cars to present to Lao customers, and not waste time waiting to enter the exciting competitive market of 2021, he added.