2021 Geely Emgrand – SS11 first official photos shown

Geely has released the first official photos of the new Emgrand, the replacement of the budget-oriented sedan that is claimed to be China’s best-selling car and has been kicking around in one form or another since 2008. The car was previously shown on China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) website, where it carried the SS11 codename.

The Emgrand moves onto the company’s B-segment Modular Architecture (BMA), which also underpins the Proton X50, the Binrui sedan and the Icon crossover. As with the previous model, the new car is positioned as an entry-level offering, with an emphasis on value and technology.

Just as we’ve seen in previous images, the Emgrand features a no-nonsense three-box sedan profile as opposed to the sleeker, more sophisticated Binrui, but it still carries the latest Geely design language. Up front is a chrome-trimmed “waterfall” grille with vertical slats, framed by concentric rings that are the remnants of the “expanding cosmos” grille on earlier offerings.

Flanking the large opening are shapelier headlights with three daytime running light “dashes” at the top – a cue that’s also been seen on the Kia EV6 and facelifted Cerato. Below them is a downturned centre air intake and T-shaped corner inlets, reminiscent of those on the G20 BMW 3 Series.

Along the side, there’s a strong shoulder line that links the head- and taillights, as well as a chrome window strip that extends into the base of the A-pillars. The rear end is decorated with full-width taillights sporting N-shaped graphics, the Geely script and a rear diffuser insert that sits underneath a broad chrome strip.

We also get our first proper look at the interior of the new Emgrand, which sports a clean, minimalist dashboard that belies the car’s bargain basement nature. As is commonplace nowadays, you’ll find a full-width air vent design, plus a tall centre console, a freestanding infotainment touchscreen, a digital instrument cluster and lots of tasteful chrome trim. There’s also a modern flat-bottomed three-spoke steering wheel.

According to reports from Chinese media, the new Emgrand will be slightly larger and lower than the outgoing model, measuring 4,638 mm long (+6 mm), 1,820 mm wide (+31 mm) and 1,460 mm tall (-10 mm). The wheelbase is identical at 2,650 mm, despite the new underpinnings.

No technical details have been revealed just yet, but the new Emgrand is expected to be powered by an updated 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine producing 114 PS, up from the current model’s 109 PS. The latter is available with either a five-speed manual gearbox or a CVT, and it remains to be seen if those transmissions will be carried over to the new model.

Fuel efficiency will be a key focus for the new Emgrand. The car shown in these images is covered in “camouflage” bearing the usual marketing phrases, with one of them stating that it will cost just 0.40 yuan (26 sen) to travel one kilometre. Given that the price of petrol in China is around 7.20 yuan (RM4.70) per litre, this suggests that the Emgrand will have a fuel consumption figure of around 18 km per litre.

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