The Global Times cited Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. CEO Gui Yuesheng, who disclosed the automaker's export goals on Wednesday during Geely's shareholders' meeting. Geely Automobile is the Hong Kong-listed arm of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.

Last year, Geely sold 415,800 vehicles, including 22,653 exports. This year, the company hopes to boost total sales to 480,000 units.

Geely exports vehicles primarily to developing markets. In January, however, Geely began exporting cars to Australia. Geely's distributor expects to sell about 2,000 cars in Australia in 2011.

Industry analysts have speculated that Geely views Australia as a test market for the United States and Europe. At the shareholders meeting, Gui confirmed that Geely is considering expansion into those two markets.

Geely, which is privately held, purchased Volvo Car Corp. last August for $1.7 billion (11 billion yuan). The company is based in the eastern China city of Hanghzou.