How did Geely create the 'super hit' Xingyuan?

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Produced by Zhineng Auto

As of the current 2025 terminal sales, the Geely Galaxy Wish has secured the top spot in terminal sales across all categories. The "hit" status of this car is no accident.
 

During a recent in-depth internal exchange, project leader Fan mentioned that the key to the Wish's success lies in a decision made at the project's inception: to create a car that "solves specific problems for users," rather than simply positioning it as a "performance car, aesthetic car, or functional car."
 

Through user research, the project team discovered that many female users have a strong need for makeup scenarios in the car, and family users also face pain points regarding travel convenience. These real-life details were directly translated into product competitiveness. The barriers between R&D, sales, and production departments were broken down, allowing user needs to be quickly implemented. In terms of marketing, the Wish deliberately amplified its core advantages, which competitors would find hard to catch up with in the short term.
 

Ultimately, the Wish evolved from a "stable hit" to a "super hit," becoming a case study worth examining for the industry.

Part 1

User Needs as the Starting Point:

From "Guessing Needs" to "Creating Needs"
 

The potential for a car model to become a hit is often determined during the project initiation phase. The starting point for the Geely Galaxy Wish was an extreme focus on "user needs"—not just asking "what kind of car users want," but delving deeper into "what users do in the car."  
 

The product team had three options at the project's inception: to create a performance car, an aesthetic car, or a functional car?Initial research leaned toward performance or functional routes.
 

◎ Functional car: Toyota's hit small cars set a precedent with their adaptable space.
 

◎ Performance car: Models like the Golf and Fit have also dominated niche markets with their performance or practicality.

During a survey targeting female users, the team identified multiple unmet real needs, revealing many pain points:
 

◎ One female user mentioned that after her husband refilled the windshield washer fluid, the sound of the hood closing "bang bang bang" made her feel like the car was being "tortured." She explicitly wanted the hood to close with just a finger's touch for easier operation.
 

◎ When asked if they would apply makeup in the car, female users responded, "I'd love that," and wanted the vanity mirror to show "the best version of themselves"—specifically, a larger, slightly concave mirror with a ring light.
 

◎ When the team asked female users if they kept lipstick, foundation, or lip balm in the car, they said they did, but the items "would slide around," so they usually stored them in the center console or armrest, lacking a fixed spot.

◎ Regarding midday scenarios in the car, female users mentioned wanting to rest or eat in the car and felt a drawer-style armrest would be more convenient.

◎ Female users also mentioned the need for easier access when picking up or dropping off children.
 

◎ One female user pointed out that the front trunk was too far back, "having to reach in every time to put something in is inconvenient," and wished it were positioned further forward for easier access.
 

Thus, the team discovered a broader blue ocean of needs, combining aesthetics and functionality to address a wider range of demands. The team conducted over 17 surveys, immersing themselves in users' daily car usage scenarios.  

This meticulous attention to detail—from adding "3 cm more space in the front trunk" to "a ring light around the vanity mirror" to "saving a kilogram of effort when closing the hood"—earned the Wish an average score of 9.3 in its first user survey(with both male and female scores exceeding 9.0), making it the highest-rated product in Geely's history.
 

This user-centric approach extended beyond definition and influenced the development process.
 

Geely Galaxy's internal "lean leadership system" eliminated departmental barriers—sales, R&D, procurement, and production teams worked together seamlessly. In the final seven months of the project, the market team prioritized needs, and the R&D team focused on technical solutions.
 

For example, when the marketing team suggested, "The white exterior is too plain; let's add a hint of pink," the color department produced three samples—"+2 degrees pink," "+5 degrees pink," and "-3 degrees pink"—within 24 hours, and the final version was chosen based on user feedback.
 

A hit isn't about having many features but about having the right ones. And these "right" features aren't guessed; they're "extracted" from real car usage scenarios.

Part 2

Differentiation Barriers and Focused Communication:

Making Advantages "Hard to Copy" and Voices "Not Scattered"  
 

Even the strongest product can struggle to become a hit if its messaging is unfocused and its advantages diluted. The Wish's breakthrough lies in clearly defining "what to say" and "what not to say," building barriers that competitors find hard to overcome in the short term. 
 

From a communication strategy perspective, the Wish avoided the trap of "spec sheet overload" and instead adopted a "functional scenario" approach.Traditional automakers often have engineers explain "power, wheelbase, drag coefficient," but what users remember is "how this car solves my problems."

The Wish's marketing team translated technical specs into real-life scenarios:

◎ Instead of saying "front trunk capacity of XX liters," they said, "The fishy smell from grocery shopping won't spread to the cabin if stored in the front trunk";

◎ Instead of just mentioning "electric tailgate," they emphasized, "When your hands are full, a simple foot swipe closes the tailgate elegantly."

This approach helped users quickly grasp "this car gets me" rather than drowning in cold data.  
 

Communication was divided into three tiers: must-communicate, optional-to-communicate, and avoid-communicate.
 

◎ "Must-communicate" were systemic advantages competitors couldn't easily replicate in the short term.
 

For example, interior space—the Wish optimized door opening angles for mothers frequently picking up or dropping off children, ensuring they could push the door open with one hand while holding a child with the other. The rear legroom retained enough space even with a child seat installed. This spatial layout wasn't achieved by lengthening the wheelbase but by reconfiguring the car's structure.

Another example is the smart system. The Wish introduced a "parent-child mode" for school drop-offs: one-touch activation plays soft music, adjusts the AC to a comfortable temperature, and starts a storytelling feature.
 

This feature was developed over 18 months of user voice interaction path learning, data collection, and feedback optimization, involving algorithm training, front-end interaction, and localized database construction—making it difficult for competitors to replicate quickly.
 

◎ "Optional-to-communicate" were features with competitive value but easy to imitate, such as seat massagers or ambient lighting.

In internal meetings, the marketing team once proposed focusing on the "leading massage feature experience," but this was rejected—"anything competitors can copy in a month isn't worth heavy promotion."
 

◎ "Avoid-communicate" were seemingly impressive but low-user-impact "pseudo-highlights," like "maximum power in kilowatts" or "wheelbase length." Engineers often emphasize these, but users care more about practicalities like "can I open the trunk with my foot when my hands are full."
 

This focus strategy avoided the pitfall of "good at everything but outstanding at nothing." While competitors were still piling on features, the Wish had already established an "irreplaceable" perception in users' minds through a combination of "space + intelligence + efficiency."
 

The team closely monitored competitors' moves, anticipating their next steps and reinforcing the Wish's advantages—for example, when they learned a rival was optimizing seat features, the Wish immediately ramped up promotion of its "irreversible space design advantage" to widen the gap.  

Summary

The success of the Geely Galaxy Wish isn't the result of a single flash of inspiration. It's built on a systematic "user-centric" methodology:

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During project initiation, user research replaced assumptions, with every feature tied to real scenarios;

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During development, cross-departmental barriers were broken to ensure user needs weren't lost in processes;

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In communication, differentiation was deliberately highlighted and amplified to secure user mindshare.
 

This methodology revolves around three "don'ts": don't overlook minor needs, don't tolerate inefficiency, and don't waste product advantages.
 

When a car delivers "everything users want" and "what competitors can't easily copy," evolving from a stable hit to a super hit is only a matter of time.

Geely's hit-making logic is taking shape—and faster than expected.

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