RAY MASSEY: Geely’s UK debut would be a gem if it wasn’t such a control freak

Nearly a decade ago, I interviewed Li Shufu, founder and billionaire boss of Geely, which at the time I dubbed ‘the biggest Chinese car company you’ve probably never heard of’. I asked him then when his firm – it now owns brands such as Volvo and has a near 10 per cent stake in Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler – would be selling specifically Geely-badged cars in the UK. ‘Too early to say,’ was his non-committal reply. But he hoped to at some point. Well, that point is now. Geely – Chinese for ‘lucky’ – has just enjoyed a launch in London,…