A ceremony is held in Taizhou to mark the first satellite produced by the Geely-funded plant rolling off the line on Sept 27. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfb001]

The first satellite produced by the Geely-funded plant in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province rolled off the line on Sept 27.

The satellite is the first commercial satellite produced in Zhejiang and signifies that Geely has the capability to mass produce commercial satellites.

Geely, a renowned automobile manufacturer in China, has become the first private company from Zhejiang to obtain the satellite manufacturing qualification and the second in the country.

Situated in Taizhou Bay New Area, the plant broke ground in Taizhou in early 2020. It is China's first private capital funded smart AIT (assembly, integration, and testing) center for pulsating modular satellites, with an annual capacity of more than 500 satellites.

It consists of a satellite R&D center, a measurement and control center, as well as component manufacturing facilities.

Geely, China's first automobile company to develop low-orbit satellites, made its strategic investment in Geespace in 2018 and started building its space-ground integrated mobility ecosystem at that time.

Xu Zhihao, CEO of Geely Technology Group, said at the ceremony, which marked the roll-out of the first satellite in the Taizhou plant, that space is an important national strategic resource and that the demand for commercial satellites will see explosive growth in the future.

The Geely-funded satellite plant in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfb001]