Short Torque

Geely No 1 in Russia Geely has become the largest Chinese automaker by sales in Russia, according to the latest statistics from the Association of European Business. It sold 2,414 units in the neighboring country in May, up 119.5 percent from the same month last year. In the first five months, the company sold 8,987 units, up 76.3 percent. Lifan, the sales champion last year, fell to second place with single month sales of 2,353 units in May and 8,790 vehicles in the first five months.

BAIC overseas unit

Beijing-headquartered BAIC Group recently established a new, wholly owned subsidy to manage its overseas business. The carmaker announced that its target is to sell 400,000 vehicles overseas by 2020, more than 70 percent of them manufactured abroad. It plans to develop 30 key markets worldwide in the next five to eight years including Brazil, Russia, Iran, Mexico, South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey. This year the company aims to export 20,000 vehicles.