- Global Premiere of new Concept Model From Geely’s International Design Team
- New EV Technologies Aired For The First Time
- Cutting Edge Seven Speed Dual Clutch Gearbox on Show
April 19th, 2013, Shanghai China. At the 15th Bi-Annual 2013 Shanghai Auto Show Geely continued to push its range of market leading technologies and internationally applauded car models with new model updates and the launch of a new concept model that showcases Geely’s advanced research and design capabilities.
Geely, along with its global partners, have been pushing the development of green energy vehicles such as pure electric vehicles and hybrid drivetrain models for a number of years. Geely used the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show as a platform to showcase Geely’s commitment to a greener automotive future with the global premiere of the company’s KC Concept and an entirely new Emgrand EC7 pure electric sedan.
Geely are showing a total line up of 23 vehicles at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show, the Geely stand located in Hall E5 includes an all new future concept model, soon to be produced models, current models, new energy models and Geely’s leading engine and gearbox technology which includes six speed automatic and seven speed Dual Clutch Technologies (DCT). Geely are aiming to show that they are a truly international automotive manufacturer with global design and engineering capabilities capable of producing internationally accepted cars, as proven by the four star crash test result gained by the Emgrand EC7 in the Euro NCAP in 2012. Geely currently boast gearbox manufacturing capabilities in Australia and also in China, where development of the technology has been underway for a number of years.
The KC concept is based on Geely’s largest new vehicle platform and aims to give global consumers a taste of what future Geely models will look like. The KC is a fastback based sedan with its total length reaching 4690mm and a wheelbase of 2880mm. The KC’s exterior design borrows heavily from classical Chinese history points, from the front observers will note the strong shoulder lines that flow over the front wheel arch to give a sense of speed and elegance whilst the wide stance gives a feeling of strength and confidence in the vehicle. The KC makes use of daylight running lights to further enhance the strong lines, the headlights and grill combine to form a unified graphic which gives the impression of distinctive stone bridges which feature heavily in classical Chinese art. The fog lamps also take design cues from classical Chinese art, with them being similar in style to Chinese ornamentation to give a functional and aesthetic appeal.
The interior continues to reflect on traditional Chinese artwork with its refined and elegant dashboard that are intersected by the instrument panel, arching the style of a traditional stone bridge over a creek with the bridges reflection shining back. The instrument panel, steering wheel and door arm rests merge into one as if there were a curling book page giving a light and airy atmosphere in the cabin with the central console arching back into the rear passenger area. The seating area radiates an elegant, relaxing mood whilst floating on bridge like supports whilst the material again looks back to traditional Chinese styling with asymmetric overlapping folds. Geely’s design team have looked towards luxury materials such as jade, fine red wood and ambient lighting to increase the sense of interior quality, with overly contrasting warm-white and traditional dark red Chinese elements to create a dignified atmosphere in both the front and rear of the concept model to give a clean and clear interior appearance.
The KC Concept is a product of the the first joint project by Geely’s recently appointed Vice President of Design Mr. Peter Horbury and Design Director Mr. Ken Ma, both designers are veterans of the global automotive industry and will continue to work together to develop world class cars for the Geely brands. Peter Horbury is well known in automotive design circles for his career in automotive design; he held a prominent position at Volvo for a number of years and has been credited by automotive media for creating the modern Volvo style. Ken Ma joined Geely as Design Director in 2012 and has previously worked for automotive industry giants such as GM.
Geely are also heavily focused on future technologies, Geely has already developed pure electric vehicles and methanol powered vehicles. Geely continues to further its advanced progress in core green technologies with great breakthroughs over the past year. At the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show Geely introduced the class leading EC7 electric sedan which features globally leading electric car technology and is the fruit of many years of research and development into perfecting the electric car. The EC7 EV model boasts high level motion and battery management systems which offer boast medium and long range travel solutions, under medium range the EV7 EV can travel for 165km and in long range mode it can reach 250km. With two battery pack solutions and a high torque 150kw motor the EC7 is far more powerful than the traditional gasoline rival, from standing it can reach 100kph within 7 seconds and has a top speed of over 200kph. Production of the EC7 is expected to begin early 2014 sales being aimed at 3000 units over the course of the year and up to 30,000 units in 2016. To date Geely has invested over 1 billion RMB into the development of new energy technology and the development of new business modes to promote the uptake of electric vehicles in the Chinese market and internationally, Geely will continue to support the development of the new energy vehicle industry with competitive, cutting edge technology and products that consumers are able to warm to with relative ease.
At the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show Geely are planning to further resonate with Chinese and global consumers alike with the introduction of world class technologies and the introduction of Geely’s new corporate culture which has a greater focus on attention to detail. Over the past several years Geely has continued to introduce international technologies and staff to its product line up to further the company’s competitiveness, furthermore Geely has put a renewed focus on quality, technology and attention to detail, Geely has continued to work hard to create new technology breakthroughs and put a greater focus on internationalization within the Geely group.