ess performance in 2025 although the electric vehicles manufacturer saw its share price drop by over 3 percent to HK$258.2 apiece yesterday.

In 2024, the company sold more than 4.27 million vehicles, an annual increase of 41.26 percent, setting a new high for two consecutive years and ranking first in the global electric vehicle market.

BYD sold 514,800 new energy vehicles in December, marking a year-on-year increase of 50.95 percent, as overseas cumulative sales in 2024 reached 407,688 units including 57,154 vehicles sold in December, an annual increase of 58.34 percent.

Meanwhile, Geely Auto (0175) said it aims to sell around 2.71 million vehicles this year, a yearly increase of 25 percent, which was described as a "cautious" number by the company's chief executive Gui Shengyue.

Geely sold about 210,000 vehicles in December last year, an increase of about 43 percent year-on-year and the total sales for the full year 2024 went up by 32 percent year-on-year.

June Chen

1f:T481,Cathay Group said on Tuesday that chairman Patrick Healy will step down from the role on May 13, 2026, and retire from Swire Group later that month, ending a career spanning more than three decades. The board has appointed Guy Bradley, currently chairman of Swire Pacific (0019) and a director of Cathay Pacific Airways (0293), to succeed Healy as chairman of the airline group, effective the same day. Bradley expressed appreciation for Healy's leadership, noting that Cathay had navigated one of the most challenging periods in its history during the pandemic. He said the group has since restored passenger capacity to pre-pandemic levels and expanded its network to more than 100 destinations, reinforcing Cathay Pacific's position as one of the world's leading airlines. Reflecting on his tenure, Healy said it had been a privilege to lead Cathay through a period of unprecedented disruption, citing the resilience of its workforce and the loyalty of its customers. H

BYD optimistic, but Geely is cautious