Automaker Geely Launched Its Own Satellites Into Space, Highlighting China’s Ambitions

Earlier this month, the Chinese aerospace institution Geespace said it sent 11 satellites into orbit. The satellites went up successful Geespace’s 4th rocket motorboat since 2022, bringing its full “IoT constellation” from 30 to 41 satellites. By the extremity of this year, it has ambitions to deploy 72 satellites, which volition supply planetary information sum “excluding lone the polar regions,” according to a property release.

Like immoderate different outer firm, Geespace has relationships with respective telecommunications companies, dispersed retired implicit much than 20 countries, to supply high-speed net and different connectivity services. Earlier this year, it signed caller agreements with Moroccan, Malaysian, and Saudi Arabian firms.

But Geespace is besides owned by the genitor institution of Geely, the second-best-selling carmaker successful China, which besides sells vehicles crossed 5 continents. Which means the rocket launch, and the in-development low-Earth-orbit constellation, besides has a mobility bent. Geespace says the satellites volition supply enactment for precocious driver-assistance systems successful cars and commercialized vehicles, “significantly improving question information and convenience.” (The institution near unfastened the anticipation of supporting different vehicles’ systems too.)

This makes Geely the lone planetary automaker with its ain dedicated outer net constellation and a nationalist program to integrate that connectivity into its precocious driving tech. At a clip erstwhile astir global automakers are struggling done concurrent crises—a rocky modulation to electrical vehicles; confused and confusing approaches to software; questions astir the aboriginal of autonomy; planetary economical upheaval and commercialized reorientations; and the emergence of Chinese car manufacturers—the Chinese automaker’s abstraction play demonstrates a veritable long-term, planetary strategy.

“Geely has the reach, it has the capital, and evidently it has the capableness to enactment satellites into orbit,” says Tu Le, the laminitis and managing manager of Sino Auto Insights, a consultancy. The automaker is arguably the astir planetary of China’s conveyance companies. In summation to its fashionable Geely Galaxy, Zeekr, and Lynk & Co brands, its genitor institution owns the bulk of Volvo Cars and Lotus, astir fractional of EV institution Polestar, and 17 percent of Aston Martin. In 2018, Geely laminitis and seat Li Shufu bought a astir 10 percent involvement successful Mercedes-Benz. Operating its ain infrastructure successful abstraction could assistance enactment each those brands into the future. “There is nary uncertainty that Geely has planetary ambitions,” says Le. “This conscionable reinforces the mindset that Geely is going to beryllium a planetary player.”

Continuing to grow globally could beryllium existential not lone for Geely, but the wider Chinese car industry. The Chinese authorities has attempted to tamp down connected a now-years-long auto terms war that has seen circular aft circular of assertive cuts arsenic the state cranks retired tens of millions of vehicles annually. EV-maker BYD, which toppled Tesla this twelvemonth arsenic the globe’s fig 1 seller of new-energy vehicles, has travel nether peculiar scrutiny. Chinese authorities and manufacture officials person likened the concern to Chinese existent property developer Evergrande; the firm’s 2021 illness plunged the federation into economical turmoil. Healthier maturation mightiness beryllium connected international exports, which surged by 300 percent betwixt 2021 and 2024 contempt US and European commercialized barriers to Chinese cars.

Global Positioning

Satellite communications should person immoderate upside for precocious car tech—and radical who bargain cars equipped with it. They tin springiness conveyance bundle highly precise, centimeter-level information connected wherever cars are connected the road, arsenic good arsenic unchangeable (and redundant) connections, which let amended way readying and driving efficiency, Fanni Li, a main probe expert focusing connected car exertion astatine S&P Global Mobility, writes successful an email. Right now, that benignant of information mightiness assistance cars execute immoderate information functions by themselves: enactment successful lanes, debar circumstantial collisions. One day, though, outer communications could assistance autonomous vehicles, those without drivers, support changeless connectivity successful a mode that today’s ground-based cellular networks can’t, particularly successful places wherever cellular infrastructure is spotty oregon nonexistent.

Geely has already advertised that it’s going to capitalize connected its outer capabilities. Several Geely models, including the Geely Galaxy Xinyao 8 PHEV sedan, Lynk & Co 900 PHEV SUV, and all-electric Zeekr 001, travel with outer connection technology.