Geely Logo PNG
Safety and power come from the company logo. The Geely logo is a composition of separate elements that form a single whole, just as the company comprises many divisions. Their unification allows us to move forward as a united, strong front.
Geely began in the 1980s when entrepreneur Li Shufu started producing refrigerator parts in Zhejiang province. In 1986, he officially registered Zhejiang Geely Holding Group after experimenting with small manufacturing businesses. When stricter regulations damaged the refrigerator market, Li shifted to scooters and motorcycles, turning Geely into one of the first private Chinese companies to produce mopeds.
By the late 1990s, Li wanted to enter the car industry despite restrictions favoring state-owned manufacturers such as Chery Automobile. He acquired a struggling vehicle factory in Sichuan mainly to obtain its production license. On August 8, 1998, Geely produced its first car, the Haoqing, which was partly modeled on the Daihatsu Charade. Nationwide approval for full automobile production arrived in 2001, shortly before China entered the WTO.
The company was reorganized as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2003 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004. Geely later expanded internationally through acquisitions, including a stake in the London Taxi Company and, eventually, control of the business, which was later renamed LEVC. The major turning point came in 2010 when Geely purchased Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Company for $1.8 billion, one of the largest overseas automotive acquisitions by a Chinese company at the time.
Over the next decade, Geely expanded aggressively through partnerships and new brands. The company launched technology projects with Volvo, acquired Polestar, created Lynk & Co, purchased stakes in Proton and Lotus Cars, and became the largest shareholder of Daimler AG in 2018. In 2021, Geely introduced the electric brand Zeekr.
Meaning and History
Billionaire Li Shufu chose the company’s name when he was still an obscure young man with minimal start-up capital. Geely is an alliteration of the Chinese characters that read “Jílì” and mean “good” or “useful.” This name can be considered a good parting word. The young entrepreneur wished himself and his business good luck, counting on the magical influence of words.
Li Shufu himself also designed the first logo. He used an abstract design – an oval with six protruding diagonal stripes on top. This is a stylized version of sixes overlaid on one another. The symbol is associated with Li, which in Chinese means “six” and also “smooth.” To some extent, the first emblem embodied the phrase “liùliù dà shùn” (“everything goes smoothly”).
But in the company’s history, not everything has been so perfect. Geely Holding was embroiled in an intellectual property infringement scandal. Toyota accused it of using an allegedly stolen logo for the new Meiri model. Despite the two trademarks’ obvious similarity in shape and color, the Japanese corporation lost the case because the legal standard was unclear.
What is Geely?
Geely is the name of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. This company is located in China and is owned by local billionaire Li Shufu. It produces various types of vehicles, including commercial transport, pickups, off-road vehicles, crossovers, and passenger cars. It also invests in electric and hybrid vehicle development.
1986 – 1998
The old Geely logo, created in the 1980s, consisted of several red geometric elements. The base was a large horizontal oval. From it, stripes stretched upward, inclined to the right at approximately 45 degrees. They varied in length, forming a triangle. Li Shufu wanted the emblem to resemble a mountain peak silhouette, reflecting the landscape of Taichow, where the company was founded. This symbolized strength and confidence, as mountains protect against strong winds and sandstorms. Each of the six lines represented specific Geely values:
- high quality;
- safety;
- comfort;
- durability;
- reliability;
- low prices.
1998 – 2014
When Geely started making cars, it needed a new logo. The design drew on a symbol developed in the mid-1980s. The original version was a red oval with six stripes of varying lengths that formed a triangular shape. Li Shufu wanted the drawing to resemble a mountain-peak silhouette because mountains rose around the city where he founded Geely. Diagonal lines could be interpreted as steps to the highest point of development. A number also symbolized good luck.
With that in mind, the holding company’s owner decided to keep the traditional emblem. The designers only repainted it white and placed it inside a blue oval with a wide silver outline. The central elements were outlined in blue with “GEELY” (at the top) and a silver ring frame.
This logo was used as a corporate logo, but it appeared on early Geely Auto models produced from 1998 to 2007. Visually, it was very similar to the Volvo brand name, although the Chinese holding company acquired the brand only in 2010. The company likely copied someone else’s design, intentionally or not, to go global.
Two circles with a double-edged Geely exactly repeated the structure of the Volvo emblem, and six diagonal lines echoed the famous arrowhead, which the Swedish concern used to symbolize the planet Mars and its main element, iron. In turn, Geely’s upward-pointing stripes personified movement into the future and the expansion of boundaries. In addition, the logo features Volvo’s corporate colors of navy blue and steel gray.
2008 – 2014
In 2008, Geely Auto marketed some products under the Gleagle brand. Its emblem consisted of two open rings, one round and the other oval. Together, they formed a single figure resembling an eye with a pupil. A short hook protruded from above, stylized as an element of the Chinese character. The drawing was three-dimensional and silvery, like a real car decoration.
2008 – 2014
In 2008, another Geely Auto subsidiary, Emgrand, appeared. Its logo was very reminiscent of the Cadillac brand name, a coat of arms divided into colored segments. Only Emgrand had a shape closer to a car radiator grille. Inside were six polygons with rounded sides: three red and three black. A grid of light brown lines separated them. The outer frame was gold. The designers added a gradient to give the drawing a three-dimensional look.
The name Emgrand appears at the bottom in two versions: Chinese characters and English. The second version uses an elegant font with truncated ends on the letters “E” and “G”. The caption is highlighted in black.
2014 – 2019
In 2013, Geely Auto merged its sub-brands into the new Geely brand. The designers kept the Emgrand logo but changed its palette. They repainted the grille a dark golden color, replaced the black elements with gray, and used blue polygons instead of red. Despite the update, the six-piece rimmed shield still resembled the classic Cadillac symbol. Below the icon was the light-blue word “GEELY,” reminiscent of the inscription on the 1998-2014 emblem.
2019 – 2023
After the redesign, the logo became elongated and acquired a silver border. The shades of blue and black are less vibrant than before. The gradient is smoother: it now looks realistic, giving the image depth. The developers expanded the lettering to “GEELY AUTO” and repainted both words gray. All these changes marked the brand’s transition to a new, innovative level, introducing next-generation technologies into cars.
2023 – today
The simplified Geely logo looks more like a Cheshire Cat smile than a car grille. The designers repainted all segments in a single color, intended to symbolize the beginning of a new era of technological products.
The bottom lettering has been shortened to the brand name. The word “GEELY” fills all the available space and again becomes large, as it was on the 2014-2019 emblem. The flex font has changed a bit, with both “Es” getting a straight top corner. The black-and-white color scheme conveys the company’s openness.
Font and Colors
Geely adopted its modern emblem from its sub-brand, Emgrand. Many have noted its obvious similarity to the Cadillac trademark due to its distinctive structure. But after the redesign, the associations shrank because the shield became elongated. The streamlined polygon shape symbolizes vehicle safety.
The automaker uses an unusual uppercase geometric font. All the corners of the letters are either straight or rounded. The shape is close to a square. This is a redesigned version of the lettering on the very first Geely logo. The designers made it proportional and equalized the line thickness.
Like 30 years ago, the main colors were blue, gray, and silver. Blue represents the clear sky and the company’s endless possibilities. Dark gray represents the earth, fundamental principles, and a connection to tradition. Silver represents innovation and the pursuit of modern technology.
