Geely Automobile Holdings, the mainland’s largest privately owned carmaker, saw its 2008 net profit soar by 190.6% to US$128.6 million, the South China Morning Post reported. The growth in Geely’s domestic market will lead the firm to focus its efforts there. “Our exports were seriously dampened because the global market has not recovered from the financial crisis. We don’t have too much expectation about overseas markets this year and it does seem domestic sales are recording growth,” Geely’s chairman Li Shufu said. Li said the company’s US$500 million investment in Mexico, seen to be paving the way for an eventual US entry, would be delayed. The firm expects to sell 250,000 vehicles this year, up 22% from last year, with overseas sales remaining flat. Geely exported 27,940 vehicles last year.
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