Geely has become China’s third-largest carmaker after six months in which profits rose 53 per cent on the back of strong sales in spite of tougher conditions in its home market.

The company overtook Japanese rivals Nissan, Toyota and Honda to become the third highest car seller, trailing only General Motors and Volkswagen in the world’s largest car market. It posted RMB 53.7bn ($7.8bn) revenue in the first six months, 36 per cent higher than the previous year. The company sold 766,630 cars in the reported period, 44 per cent more than the previous year. Profit climbed to Rmb6.67bn.

The results, which come as domestic Chinese rivals struggle, marks the continuing rise of the brand whose parent company Zhejiang Geely Holdings owns the Swedish premium nameplate Volvo and the British sports car maker Lotus.