25 April 2016, Beijing, China. Geely Automobile Holdings (Geely Auto) unveiled its new product range at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show today, heralding the arrival of the company’s third generation of vehicles.
The new line of cars, which includes the Geely GC9, the Bo Yue SUV, and the brand-new Emgrand GS SUV, are a manifestation of the company’s shift towards “Making Refined Cars for Everyone.”
The Emgrand SUV, Geely Auto’s first urban crossover SUV, was given its global premiere at this year’s Beijing Auto Show. The Emgrand GS is the second vehicle to emerge from the company’s ‘Pivot to SUV’ strategy, through which it will roll out a range of SUVs and MPVs throughout 2016. The pivot will see Geely Auto use its position as China’s leading passenger car brand to build its share of the SUV market.
The Emgrand GS was first aired as the Emgrand Cross Concept at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show. Two years and 4 million kilometers of road testing later, the Emgrand GS is ready for market. It comes with a 1.3T or 1.8L naturally aspirated engine – voted among the Top Ten Engines in China in 2014 and 2015 respectively by a consortium of Chinese media titles – and the option of a six-speed manual or six-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox. To keep drivers connected to the mobile world, the Emgrand GS features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto aspart of its technology suite. And in line with the vast majority of Geely Auto vehicles, it is built to exceed 5-Star standards in China’s NCAP crash tests.
The Emgrand GS is the brainchild of veteran car designer, Peter Horbury, Vice President of Design at Geely Auto. Mr.Horbury is responsible for Geely Auto’s 300-strong global design team located in California, Barcelona, Shanghai and Gothenburg, which has designed a series of segment-leading vehicles since it was established in 2012.
In December 2014 Geely unveiled the flagship Geely GC9 sedan with its brand promise of “Making Refined Cars For Everyone.” Geely has resolutely adhered to its brand promise over the past two years, with the introduction of the Geely Bo Yue SUV in March 2016 and now the Emgrand GS.
Geely Auto’s commitment of listening to the consumer has paid off. Sales in 2015 rose by 22%, well above the industry average, to 510,000 units, beating the company’s original sales goal of 450,000 units by 13%. Monthly sales for the New Emgrand averaged over 20,000 units per month last year, while the New Vision and the GC9 sold an average of over 15,000 and 5,000 units per month respectively.
In the first quarter of 2016, Geely Auto achieved sales of 143,323 units, an increase of 2% over the same period in 2015 and equivalent to 24% of 2016 sales goal. The Bo Yue, which launched on March 26, sold over one thousand units within its first week on the market and attracted over 30,000 customer orders within the first month.
The Emgrand GS Crossover will be launched on May 4 at an online event.