Paul Tan's Automotive News » Geely

Geely exports second batch of vehicles to Cuba

Anthony Lim — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:45:00 +0000

According to reports, Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely has exported a second batch of Geely vehicles to Cuba, shipping 1,560 cars to the country last week. It’s the second time the automaker has done so, having exported 1,500 units in 2009, where they were used by government officials and the police, as well as equipping rental car fleets.

The shipment this time is made up of 1,310 Freedom Ship (or the Geely CK) sedans and 250 Emgrand mid-sized sedans, Geely said, and buyers for the cars include Cuba’s defense and tourism ministries, plus some other agencies.

Geely, which owns Swedish automaker Volvo, also began exports to other markets this year – it started exporting to Australia earlier in the year, and last month began selling cars in Saudi Arabia.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely to build its own assembly plant in Indonesia

Anthony Lim — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:00:12 +0000

Geely Automobile is definitely looking at making some serious inroads in Indonesia. The company has been selling its cars in the country since April 2010, and through its local subsidiary Geely Mobil Indonesia now has 18 dealerships across the country, with two new ones to come about this year.

Now, reports say that it is planning to build its own assembly plant there, which will be located in Cikarang, Bekasi in West Java. Land clearing for the site is being carried out now, and when completed – at a cost of between US$30 million to US$50 million – the plant will start assembling Geely products in 2015.

Currently, the company sells the Panda hatchback as well as the MK sedan and MK2 hatchback in Indonesia, the latter two being assembled locally at an Astra International plant in North Jakarta. It showcased its latest product for the market, the Panda LC Cross, at the IIMS in Jakarta last week. Looking to be very depanda-ble as a player in Indonesia, the brand is.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely Panda puts its paw on the Indonesian market

Paul Tan — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 05:48:40 +0000

Of the many cars that Chinese car manufacturer Geely put on display at the 2011 Indonesian International Motor Show, this one caught our eye – the Geely Panda.

The entire car is Panda-themed, for example the black rings around the Panda’s “eyes”, the cartoon Panda on the floor mats, and even the tail lamps are designed to look like a Panda’s paw print.

Being an A-segment car it’s not very big inside but one thing we noticed is that it did not have the strong and suspiciously dangerous-smelling scent of cheap plastic that we’ve come to encounter with some Chinese cars in the past.

Geely also claims the Panda is the first car to achieve a 5 star crash safety rating in China’s independent C-NCAP collision testing.

The cutesy circular theme continues on the inside. The glove box looks quite unique as it is not your typical glovebox but is instead accessed by a sliding cover like you’ll usually find on center consoles in the middle of the front seats.

Power comes from a 1.3 litre inline-4 which makes 85 horsepower and 110Nm of torque. It’s priced at about 95 million Indonesian rupiah, which translates to about RM33,000.

Look after the jump for more pix and a video of the Panda.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Volvo to make 7-Series and S-Class competitor?

Jacob Alexander — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:36:25 +0000

Geely Boss Li Shufu mentioned just hours after the announcement of the Chinese automakers purchase of Volvo that he wants Volvo cars to compete with top end marques like BMW and Mercedes. Li attributes the Swedish brand’s struggling sales as compared to top flight automakers to the pricing of the models.

A new BMW 740i sedan and Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid in the US retails for about $70,150 and $87,950 respectively which is more than double of Volvo’s $39,200 for its top of the range sedan, the Volvo S80. Li says Volvo need products to compete in that segment.

Speaking more on the overall progression to profitability, Li pointed out that 380,000 units had to be sold every year for Volvo to become profitable which is a far cry from the 335,000 units they sold last year, suffering a loss of $653 million. In order for Volvo to get an upper hand in the competition, they [Volvo] need to pump out more volume.

Part of the plan is also to create more awareness in the Chinese market of Volvo’s heritage of developing features such as air bags or catalytic converters. In regards to a 380,000 units every year, Li said that no decision has been made and that would require market studies, board and government approval.

He went on to say that he was happy with the Volvo buy branding it a historic opportunity and does not see any similar deals available in the near future. “It’s very difficult to find a good brand like Volvo you can buy. If Mercedes Benz wants to sell itself, I think Chinese companies would be interested”.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Volvo Cars now officially owned by Chinese Geely!

Jacob Alexander — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:51:29 +0000

It’s official – Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company Limited (or Geely as its known to you and me) has completed its acquisition of the Volvo Car Corporation from Ford Motor Company. This has been done to a tune of a US$1.8 billion amount which was originally agreed upon in March 2010.

This purchase price was made out of a US$200 million note with a cash balance subject to customary purchase price adjustments at the close of the sale. Geely have now paid off the note and US$1.3 billion in cash to complete the sale. Final balance figures are expected to be finalized later this year.

On the matter of technology and manufacturing, Ford will continue to supply Volvo with powertrains, stampings and other vehicle components at differing periods. This also includes engineering support, information technology, access to tooling for common components, and other selected services for a transition period. In terms of intellectual property, agreements are currently being made to govern the use of Volvo’s intellectual property by Ford.

Former Volkswagen Chief Executive of America Stefan Jacoby, has been appointed the new President and Chief Executive of Volvo Cars. They will also retain their headquarters and manufacturing presence in Sweden and Belgium while the management will be allowed independence to execute its own business plans with direction from its new board.

An exciting step for both companies, that will no doubt see the rise of Geely as a global market player and the influx of Chinese investment into one of the top Swedish auto brands.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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EU approves sale of Volvo to Chinese carmakers, Geely

Jacob Alexander — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:14:38 +0000

It has been announced recently that the European Union competition regulators have approved the sale of Ford Motor Co’s Volvo, to Chinese car maker Geely Automobile Holdings and investment firm Daqing. This comes after an investigation concluded that the “deal will not significantly impede competition in Europe,” in a statement from the EU executive.

The takeover worth US$2.7 billion was originally agreed on in March and is expected to be concluded sometime during the third quarter of this year. This is said to include $900 million to bring Volvo back into the black.

There have been rumours that to do this, the Chinese carmaker will be moving production to China, where other German and Japanese manufacturers have enjoyed booming sales and profits. Naturally the company itself is resistant to the idea, but this will be futile as Volvo is one step closer to being fully owned by Geely.

Even if that doesn’t happen, the upside to this takeover would mean that Volvo tech could be seen in Geely cars, which are almost half the price of the Sweedish models, thereby providing a sales boost for Geely range of cars.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Ford and Geely reach definitive agreement over Volvo sale

Danny Tan — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:39:33 +0000

Ford has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Volvo Car Corporation to Chinese carmaker Geely. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. The purchase price for Volvo and related assets (mainly intellectual property) is US$1.8 billion.

Ford said that it will continue to cooperate with Volvo in several areas after the sale has been completed in order to ensure a smooth transition, but will not retain any ownership. Following completion of the sale, Ford will continue to supply Volvo Cars with powertrains, stampings and other vehicle components. The Detroit automaker is also committed to provide engineering support, information technology and access to tooling for common components, among other services for a “transition period to ensure a smooth separation process”.

Both parties have established agreements to govern the use of intellectual property, which will “allow both Volvo and Ford to deliver their business plans and provide appropriate safeguards against misuse”. The agreements are said to allow Volvo to grant sublicenses to certain portions of Ford’s intellectual property used by Volvo Cars to third parties, including Geely. Looks like Geely cannot simply pick off tech from the Volvo tree, even though they own it.

Stephen Odell, CEO of Volvo Cars, said: “The Volvo management team fully endorses Ford’s sale of Volvo Cars to Geely. We believe this is the right outcome for the business, and will provide Volvo Cars with the necessary resources, including the capital investment, to strengthen the business and to continue to move it forward in the future.

“Geely has been very supportive of Volvo Cars’ business plans and management team. We look forward to building a strong relationship between Volvo Cars and Geely, and to maintaining a strong relationship with Ford in those areas where we will continue to work together to ensure a smooth transition,” he added.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely secures financing for Volvo purchase, scouting for Chinese production base

Danny Tan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:57:55 +0000

Chinese automaker Geely has managed to find USD 2.1 billion worth of financing and will seal an agreement with Ford for the acquisition of Volvo Car Corporation by the end of this month, according to reports. The capital was raised from unidentified financial institutions and local governments.

An AFP report said that Geely does not plan to move Volvo production of to China. Trade unions in Sweden are fearing job cuts at Volvo Cars, which has 16,000 staff on its payroll in the high cost Scandinavian country and 8,000 more across the globe.

At the same time, news sources from Hong Kong (where Geely is listed) say that the Hangzhou based company is selecting locations in China for Volvo production, with Beijing and Tianjin vying for the project. The reports add that Geely will set up a plant in China with a production capacity of about 300,000 vehicles annually, nearly doubling Volvo’s global output. This move is aimed to steer Volvo into profitability before 2011 through China’s lower manufacturing and labour costs. If this plan works, the fears of the well paid fatihfuls back in Gothenburg is very likely to turn into reality.

Source

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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China-made London cabs on the streets of Kiev?

Danny Tan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:11:16 +0000

Kiev, the capital of Ukraine is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a much anticipated new model. No, not the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (which is rumoured to be coming soon to Malaysia by the way) but the legendary London Taxi as Kiev is set to become one of the first cities in the world to introduce the iconic vehicle.

The London cab is built by the same company who designed it over 60 years ago. “We know more about taxi design and manufacture than anyone,” said Matthew Cheyne, LTI Vehicles’ International Market Development Director, “and it’s that expertise that we are bringing to Kiev.”

Today’s version of the black cab is built in China by LTI and their joint venture company Geely. “We have been working for a long time to produce a cost effective vehicle that doesn’t lose any of the values that the taxi has in the UK. It is the same design and is as robust as the one we build in Britain but is a lower cost,” adds Cheyne.

LTI Vehicles claims that it has numerous advance enquiries from Ukraine, and is looking for a partner who will import the vehicle and provide sales and aftersales back up.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely boss: “Nothing will change for Volvo”

Danny Tan — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:46:49 +0000

After Ford announced that it will sell Volvo to Geely, many have raised concerns on the future health of the Swedish carmaker. As a response, Li Shufu, founder and chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, parent of Geely Auto says that Volvo’s current production, R&D facilities, union agreements and dealer networks will all be left intact, quotes a Reuters report.

“If the deal succeeds, nothing will change for Volvo, except the boss turns to Li Shufu,” the head honcho told Xinhua news agency. “Volvo and Geely will be two independently-managed brands.”

He said the Volvo purchase would help Geely, which is China’s largest private automaker, develop “new energy vehicles”, and that Geely would help Volvo reduce production costs and expand in China. “The new energy-powered vehicle will be the future of the world’s auto industry. But based on current investment in research and development, China will be left far behind the pace of developed countries,” the 46-year old Li said.

Ford expects the deal, which is estimated to cost Geely $1.8 billion, to be signed in the first quarter of 2010. Ford paid $6.45 billion for Volvo in 1999.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Volvo’s sale to Geely on track, major issues resolved

Harvinder Sidhu — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:19 +0000

Ford has officially announced that all substantive commercial issues relating to the sale of Volvo to the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group have been resolved. The current owner of Volvo revealed that it expects the deal to be signed in the first quarter of 2010 and the deal is expected to be fully finalized by the second quarter of next year. The sale is said to be worth about US$ 1.8 billion and it would be the largest acquisition of a foreign automaker by a Chinese company.

Ford also said that some work still remain before the deal can be completed and these include final documentation, financing (from Geely’s end) and relevant government approvals. Ford will focus on its core brand and also revealed that it will still continue to cooperate with Volvo in certain areas after the sale but confirmed that it does not intend to retain a shareholding in the Swedish brand.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Chinese site claims Volvo and Geely purchase deal finalised?

Paul Tan — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:26:21 +0000

There are no confirmed reports in the Western media yet, but Chinese website auto.sohu.com claims that Ford and Geely have already struck an agreement for the Swedish car company best known for their safety to be sold to the Chinese manufacturer. But it is the only news source that seems to be covering this story, so it either might only be a blown-up rumour or it might be so fresh that only the Chinese side want to talk about it at the moment.

Nevertheless even that news report is skeptical about how such a deal can pull through successfully. Geely’s market value is over 30 billion yuan, which is about 4.3 billion USD, and a Volvo buy would also require several billion USD, claims the site. They are saying Geely might take government loans and other financial assistance. And given Ford’s improving financial health, it will be less desperate to sell Volvo, which might raise the Swedish manufacturer’s price.

Elsewhere in media reports, people are still talking about another Chinese car company recently deciding to join the race to buy Volvo from Ford – Beijing Auto Industry Holdings. Beijing Auto currently has joint ventures in China with Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai. Other names mentioned before in the press said to be interested in Volvo include Renault, Chery, and Changan.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely GE shamelessly apes the Phantom

Paul Tan — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:31:27 +0000

Everytime Chinese automakers begin to show that they’ve moving one step ahead towards being able to produce advanced and most importantly SAFE cars, things like this destroy all that goodwill and return them to rip-off death trap status.

This is the Geely GE, which at first impression is obviously a rip-off of a Rolls-Royce. Geely denies this of course, saying that while it shares some similiarities it is “original” because while it looks similiar, the details are different enough to be called something new. The 5.4 meter long car has a 3.5 litre V6 engine under its hood.

The Geely GE (GE = Geely Excellence) shown here is a concept car but it must be for the truly antisocial high class Chinese customer as when you peek into the rear passenger cabin there is only one seat, somewhat like a little throne in the car. Only 3 seats in such a large thing – one driver and perhaps a bodyguard at the front and the boss at the back. The production version will be sold under a new brand called YingLun, which is meant to sound like England.

Rolls-Royce Asia Pacific is contemplating legal action, but we don’t know of any further action yet as of publishing time. But what they did say is that despite imitation being the best kind of flattery, they definitely are not flattered.

Look after the jump for more angles of the Geely GE.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely buys Drivetrain Systems International

Paul Tan — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:01:44 +0000

Geely has acquired Australian automatic transmission manufacturer Drivetrain Systems International. Drivetrain Systems International is the company that supplies the 6-speed automatic transmission to Korean car company Ssangyong, which is used in the updated Ssangyong Actyon truck sold here in Malaysia. It also supplies transmissions for the Australian-built Ford Falcon and the Ford Territory.

The deal is set to help Geely expand its product line and improve its ability to develop, produce and equip its cars with competitive transmissions. Drivetrain Systems has an annual production capacity of 180,000 transmissions. No financial details related to the deal were revealed.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely begins Geely CK1 sales in Indonesia

Paul Tan — Wed, 23 May 2007 09:24:52 +0000

The Geely CK1, who used to sport a W203 Mercedes Benz C-Class front end but has been recently revised has just made it’s debut in Indonesia last week. It is sold by PT Gaya Motor, an associate of Information Gateway Corp Sdn Bhd owned by Tan Sri Cam Soh Thiam Hong.

The car, available in 1.3 litre and 1.5 litre form, will be assembled in Indonesia, and 2,000 units is expected to be sold over the next 12 months. PT Gaya Motor has an agreement with Geely Holding Group for the manufacturing, assembly and international marketing of Geely vehicles in Indonesia. PT Gaya Motor will initially assemble CKD packs of the car in Indonesia, but later will start using more local components as volume picks up.

Geely originally wanted to establish a manufacturing base in Malaysia with an investment of RM100 million together with it’s partner Information Gateway Corp Sdn Bhd, but decided to pull out and choose Indonesia instead because of the discouraging National Automotive Policy.

You can read more about the history of how the NAP chased away a potential investor in the related posts below:

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely moves assembly plant plans to Indonesia

Paul Tan — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 09:01:32 +0000

According to a report by China Knowledge, Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd has scrapped it’s plans to set up an automotive assembly plant in Malaysia. Previously it applied to start assembling cars in the 1.3 litre and 1.5 litre range here in Malaysia together with it’s local partner Information Gateway Corp Sdn Bhd (IGC) at a plant in Kuantan. Assembly was expected to begin in October 2006 with the Geely CK sedan. Total investment was expected to be in the RM100 million range.

First they were faced with a 20:80 local distribution to export ratio, and recently the government decided to only approve assembly of cars with 1.6 litres of displacement and above. I suppose when you are faced with so much problems even before you put your money in, anyone would just walk away – Geely has decided to take it’s business elsewhere and has decided to set up an assembly plant in Indonesia instead.

As for Cam Soh’s Information Gateway Corp Sdn Bhd (IGC), they will begin importing Geely cars in from Indonesia for sale shortly. 1.6 litre models and above will be assembled locally in Oriental Assemblers Sdn Bhd’s plant in Johor Bahru by year-end.

Source

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Chery QQ AMT; assembly by Proton next year?

Paul Tan — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:48:31 +0000

Alado Bumi Sdn Bhd launched the new fully imported CBU Chery QQ AMT today, powered by an automated manual gearbox similiar to the unit in the Proton Savvy AMT.

The 52hp 75.5Nm 0.8 litre Chery QQ AMT is priced at RM42,888, while the 0.8 litre Chery QQ with a 5 speed manual transmission sells for RM39,888. Only 100 units of the Chery QQ manual remains, out of the 200 stock that was brought in.

In other Chery news, Chery expects to start local assembly of Chery cars in Malaysia in Proton’s plant by next year if talks go well. As for Cam Soh’s other company, IGC which intends to assemble Geely cars in Malaysia, the government has only given approval to assemble 1.6 litre Geely cars here, but not models lower than 1.6 litre. Are we looking at a non-tariff barrier working in action to protect Proton?

Click here for a price comparison of the Chery QQ with other models in it’s class.

Source

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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IGC to start Geely assembly in October 2006

Paul Tan — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:58:38 +0000

Information Gateway Corp Sdn Bhd (IGC) and Geely will start assembling Geely cars in a plant near Kuantan in October 2006, beginning with the Geely CK sedan. This will make Malaysia the first country outside China where Geely cars will be assembled. Malaysia will be used as a base for Geely to tap the regional market.

IGC will be handling assembly, marketing and distribution of the Geely cars. Geely does not have any stake in the set-up, and are only supplying technology know-how and key auto parts like the bodies, engines and gearboxes – basically a CKD pack.

The Geely CK is powered by a 94hp 1.5 litre Toyota engine. The chassis was developed by Geely engineers together with Daewoo. Geely recently began mass production of it’s own 1.8 litre aluminium block engine with continuously variable valve timing technology that produces 140 horsepower. 50,000 units a year will be built in Geely’s Ningbo plant in the Zhejiang Province. The engine will make it’s debut in the Geely FC-1 sedan. Developing own engines is important for Chinese manufacturers, as most of them use third party engines, usually old Toyota and Mitsubishi designs.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely Beauty Leopard to make European debut

Paul Tan — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 19:23:35 +0000

Geely will be introducing it’s Geely BL sports car into the European market soon, with a targetted launch date set sometime in 2008. It will be banking on low cost as one of the attraction points – anyone looking for a cheap sporty ride to buy the car but does not mind the fact that it only comes with either a 1.3 litre or a 1.5 litre engine. Transmission options are a 5-speed manual and a slushbox likely to be a 4-speed with overdrive. The car has discs at the front and drums at the rear, and the 1.3 and 1.5 litre 16-valve engines make 84 horsepower and 92 horsepower respectively, both at 6,000rpm. Torque output is 110Nm at 5,200rpm for the 1.3 and 128Nm at a lower 3,400rpm for the 1.5 litre. These engines push a 980kg car. Mostly all show and no go, but it doesn’t look terribly underpowered. Notice the classic Chinese design element – tiny wheels which barely fill up the wheel arches.

Geely has caused some amusement with it’s Geely Merie, a sedan that mimics the Mercedes Benz C-class. They are China’s largest privately-owned car manufacturer. The Geely Beauty Leopard (yes, that’s what BL means) sells for as low as US$7,500 (RM27,600) in China. The car will probably be rechristened for the European market as a car called something that sounds that silly probably will be a sales turnoff. This car falls into the tiny spoarts car segment, and I’m reminded of the old school Mazda Eunos and Toyota Sera. No confirmed prices yet, but we’ll know sometime closer to 2008.

Source

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely investment plans on hold again

Paul Tan — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:41:05 +0000

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd is once again rethinking it’s RM100 million investment plans in Malaysia. It was not very happy with the new National Automotive Policy which stated that any new foreign car manufacturers who want to enter the Malaysian market would have to export 80% of it’s production here in Malaysia. It used to be 30:70.

It was also not very happy with the government ruling that no new manufacturing licenses will be granted until overcapacity problems are addressed. I’ll leave you to think of your own definition of what overcapacity. And there’s always that case-by-case basis clause.

If Geely does not invest in an assembly plant, Geely’s local partner IGC Corp will still continue assembling the right-hand drive Geely cars at Oriental Assembly in Johor.

If I was Cam Soh, I would be pretty frustrated by now. First his Chery A160 vehicles encounter AP problems, now there’s a problem with his venture into assembling Geely vehicles.

It makes me wonder, does the government really intend to develop Malaysia into a regional automotive hub is it just hot air when the policies it formulates do not look very encouraging. But then again, the ‘case by case’ clause is a very good wildcard.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely CK1 Freedom Cruiser

Paul Tan — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 16:35:54 +0000

Zhejiang Geely Automotive Company will go ahead with the assembly of it’s Geely CK1, or Geely Freedom Cruiser here in Malaysia. It will be assembled by Information Gateway Corporation Sdn Bhd. Production is expected to be 10,000 units a year by August 2007, with 20% of that amount destined for the local market and the rest for export. That would mean 2,000 Chinese cars a year on our roads. Have any of you seen a Chinese car on the road yet? I’ve only seen the Chery A160 at an exhibition in Mid Valley. Can’t see them anywhere. However Datuk Cam Soh says 100 out of 262 CBU Chery A160 models have been sold.

The Geely CK1 was based on a platform which Geely licensed from Daewoo. If I’m not mistaken, it runs Toyota engines. Originally it was reported that the assembly of the CK1 would be at a plant in Kuantan, but now IGC says it will be assembled by Oriental Assemblers Sdn Bhd in Johor Bahru. It is also in talks with other companies with assembly plants like DRB-HICOM, for further assembly options, perhaps for more models. Upcoming models will have up to 60% local content, while the 1.3 litre Geely CK1 will have 40% local content. One of the upcoming models will be a more upmarket luxurious version based on the same CK1 platform, rebadged as an IGC model. It will be called the IGC CKX.

As Geely only produces left-hand drive models currently, IGC will be exporting right-hand drive Geely vehicles worldwide. They will be priced at USD5000-6000 for export, however prices for the Malaysian market is not known yet, although it is expected that it will definitely be much higher than RM22,800 (USD6000).

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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Geely Freedom Cruiser assembled in Malaysia

Paul Tan — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 05:05:22 +0000

Zhejiang Geely Automotive Company is China’s biggest privately-owned automaker and specialises in making budget cars for first-time buyers like it’s 1.3 litre Geely Merrie which looks like a mutated Mercedes Benz and the 1.6 litre Geely Freedom Cruiser. Other models produced by Geely includes funky names like Uliou, Maple, Urban Nanny and Beauty Leopard.

Most of Geely’s models are based on a 1987 Daihatsu Charade. Their engineers truly know how to milk the most out of a platform, with small cars, medium sized cars and even vans (Urban Nanny) being based on the 1987 Daihatsu Charade platform. For those who do not remember platform model years, the 1987 model is the G100.

Geely will be the first automaker from China to assemble cars outside of China at it’s plant here in Kuantan. The Geely plant in Kuantan is owned by Information Gateway Corporation Sdn Bhd. The plans had been delayed so far because of the NAP, and pending approval from our government. The government has given the go ahead, so production is expected to start soon.

Geely will be assembling the Geely Freedom Cruiser here in Malaysia in 1.3 and 1.6 engine options. Geely may make 2 other larger models in the 1.8 litre engine range later. The Freedom Cruiser is said to be based on a Daewoo design, with engines design licensed from Toyota.

These cars are meant for the export market, with almost all of them destined to be shipped out around the region. The target sales for the Malaysian market is so low that it’s almost negligible.

Geely rove Malaysia rong time!

Source: Wikipedia Geely 7151CK Freedom Cruiser, Shanghai Daily

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 14:58:23 +0000.

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