18 April 2014, Beijing –Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely Auto” or the “Company”) today announced its new brand strategy ahead of the 13th Beijing International Automobile Exhibition (“Beijing Auto Show”). The Company also unveiled the Emgrand Cross Concept PHEV (“Emgrand Cross”), a concept car designed to showcase its deepening research and expertise in new energy vehicles (“NEV”) and new design language.
To cater to the needs of customers and leverage its brand heritage, Geely Auto will overhaul its current brand strategy, shifting its focus to enhance a single Geely brand, having previously operated three sub-brands, Emgrand, Gleagle and Englon. The ‘One Geely’ brand will enrich Geely Auto’s product portfolio, enhance product differentiation, optimise distribution channels, and improve the Company’s interaction with customers. Anew generation of vehicles will be produced under the Geely brand, based on Geely Group’s KC, compact modular architecture (CMA) and framework extendable (FE) platforms. Emgrand will remain as a product series under the Geely brand.
Sun Xiaodong, vice president of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (“Geely Group”), said, “The ‘One Geely’ brand is founded on the strategy of ‘platformisation’ and ‘universalisation’,which places three platforms under one unified brand. We believe the new approach to the Geely brand will enhance its value, while facilitating more coordinated growth across the markets in which we operate with economies of scale that maximise the efficiency of our R&D function. Our overriding goal is to provide customers with the safest, most environmentally-friendly, and most energy-efficient products possible.”
The Emgrand Cross, displayed for the first time at today’s press conference, is the second concept car to come out of Geely Group’s Shanghai Design Centre. Built on Geely Group’s FE platform, the car uses a 65kW+ 40kW dual-motor system and a 10kWh power battery. It is capable of accelerating from zero to 100km/h in ten seconds, and has a top speed of 190km/h. Producingjust 46g of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled, the Emgrand Cross can cover distances of up to 650km on a single charge and 50km on its pure-electric setting. Geely Auto expects the Emgrand Cross to hit the market in the latter half of 2015.
Peter Horbury, Geely Group’s senior vice president of design, said, “The Emgrand Cross follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, the KC, and its combination of sleek design and high performance represent another step forward for the Geely brand. We will continue to leverage Geely Holding Group’s design centres in Shanghai, Gothenburg, Barcelona and Los Angeles to construct the latest design language and build a global design concept. Our aim is to design a new generation of vehicles that meet and lead consumer needs.”
The new concept car is a testament to the progress Geely Auto has made in new energy vehicles. Focusing on both hybrid fuel-electric and plug-in hybrid technologies, Geely Auto has made new energy vehicles a central pillar of its long-term growth strategy. Its hybrid technology willadopt a GL-ESD power split system characterised by its combination of efficiency, structural sophistication and low cost.
An Conghui, president and CEO of Geely Holding Group,added, “We are proud to see Geely Auto open a new chapter in its development. Inthe future, we’ll make the greatest possible use of the significant resources within Geely Group to strengthen the synergies between Geely Auto and Volvo Cars. We aim to build the Group into an influential automotive enterprise withan R&D capability and design and procurement systems that can compete on a global scale.”