18/12/2014
Geely GC9 Launched at Geely Brand Night
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Monday, 15th December, Beijing China.Beijing’s Water Cube, recently host to the
2014 APEC Summit, was the platform from which Geely Auto officially showcased
its flagship GC9 sedan and announced its new brand positioning and official tie
up with the Chinese Olympic Swimming Team.
Geely Auto Chief
Executive Officer, Mr. An Cong Hui, opened the ceremony by detailing the
changes that the Chinese automarkets core consumer base has undergone and how
Geely plans to react to these changes: “Post 1980’s consumers are becoming the
driving force behind automotive consumption. They embrace globalized
perspectives and ideas in a professional manner. Consumer requirements and
buying patterns have undergone a complete change with consumers demanding
greater levels of technology, quality and individualized value offerings.”
New Generation Geely
To further engage this
rapidlychanging consumer base Mr. An Cong Hui announced ‘New Generation Geely’ whose brand mission has been set as ‘Creating Refined Cars for Everybody’.
Under this new direction Geely will utilize its newly created global
engineering and design facilities to produce vehicles that are at the very forefront
of the auto market in terms of engineering, technology and comfort.In July 2014
Geely Auto launched its first transitional product, the New Emgrand, under the
New Generation Geely strategic plan; the New Emgrand makes use of Geely’s new
design language and features Geely’s latest 1.3T engine. Monthly sales of the
New Emgrand reached 21,827 units in November, making it the best-selling
Chinese sedan.
Under the New
Generation Geely philosophy Geely will continue to develop its engineering
abilities along its core platforms, the KC and FE platforms and will continue
to deepen and strengthen ties with Volvo Car Company where the two are jointly
developing a Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) which will be used on both Volvo
and Geely’s next generation of compact vehicles. The CMA project will see Volvo
and Geely work together on joint R&D, engineering, and purchasing of parts
to create economies of scale for both brands.
Geely GC9 Debuted at Water Cube
The Geely GC9 is
the first product from Geely’s new global design and engineeringfunction. The
GC9 was developed by Peter Horbury, Geely’s Senior Vice President of Design and
his team whom are located in four key design studios located in Gothenburg,
Shanghai, Barcelona and Los Angeles; these four design centers currently employ
220 designers and will expand to 300 in 2105. As Geely’s Chief Designer, Peter
Horbury was eager to show that Geely is a true international car brand in terms
of design whilst continually remembering Geely’s Chinese roots. Peter Horbury
explained the design language as being: “The GC9’s lower frame
spears out under the headlamps and the upper line together with the headlamps
form a flowing bird’s wing effect, and the total frame surrounding these rings
radiating from the badge like the ripples on a pond. All of these lines and
features are designed to look as if they were not drawn with a marker but with
a calligraphy brush. This is one of the details with which we have tried to
introduce a flavor of China into our design. My ambition is to create global
design language but with a hint of where we come from.”
The GC9 was designed
from the outset to be a fastback which gives it a considerable stance, even
when it is not moving the GC9 look as if it is already at speed, with strong
muscular sides and a sculpted rear the GC9 strikes an imposing figure on public
roads and stands out against global competitors.
Whilst the GX9’s
exterior is dramatic and powerful, the interior gives way to a relaxed, calm,
luxurious cabin environment. The lines on the instrument and doors follow the
sweeping lines of ancient Chinese bridges, with traditional Chinese
architecture also featured on the speaker covers which again subtly hints
towards Geely’s Chinese roots. Comfort and luxury levels were paramount whilst
developing the GC9’s interior; independent electrically adjustable rear seats
have been introduced to give passengers the comfort levels that they deserve. World
renowned audio and infotainment supplier Harman supplied its Infinity sound
system which has integrated eight speakers into the GC9 to provide a complete
surround sound system creating a concert level experience within the vehicle. Air
quality systems have been added to give occupants the best possible internal
air and to keep external pollution on the outside.
Global partners
and suppliers were heavily involved in the GC9’s development, Volvo assisted
with chassis development to provide an exhilarating driving experience whilst
Australia’s Prodrive enhanced the GC9’s suspension to offer a stable,
comfortable experience for passengers. Superior NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness)
characteristics were developed by Belgium’s LMS to give occupants the best
level of road feedback and comfort possible.
Engine power comes
from three key units, a naturally aspirated 2.4L, a 1.8 Direct Injection Turbo
and a flagship 3.5L naturally aspirated engine. All three engines were
independently developed by Geely Auto and provide a strong mixture of fuel economy
and power. The 1.8 Direct Injection Turbo produces 250Nm from 1500RPM whilst
returning extremely competitive fuel economy and reaching Euro 5 emission
levels. All three engines are paired with a six speed automatic gearbox from
Australia’s Drivetrain Systems International (DSI) which is also a wholly owned
subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
The GC9 is Geely’s
first vehicle that will utilize Geely’s new slogan: “Dynamic and Refined, Confident and Inspiring” these four words will
define the development of Geely at all levels, from management to product
level.
Both passive and
safety technology solutions have been built into the GC9 to give the driver and
occupants complete piece of mind;the GC9 is fitted with an array of crash
protection airbags including driver and passenger, side impact and driver knee
protection, the GC9’s body is built around a steel cage with added side impact
protection and front and rear crash protection. Geely has a long history of
building vehicles that meet or exceed C-NCAP Five Star standards and the GC9 is
no exception. Geely has utilized a 360 degree camera system on the GC9 that allows
drivers to see around the car at all times eliminating blind spots around the
vehicle, furthermore these cameras can be used during parking and will alert
the driver to any obstacles in the way, an automatic parking feature has also
been built into the GC9 which allows drivers to select the parking spot and let
the car take over. Other active safety features include automatic distance
measuring; should the GC9 become too close to the vehicles further ahead on the
road the GC9 will actively apply the brakes to prevent any collisions. A Heads
Up Display (HUD) system has also been introduced to the GC9 which will show the
vehicles speed, travelling direction and navigation hints alongside the
generously sized central console display. The infotainment system allows for
easy access to media, music, navigation systems and internet access; the GC9
makes use of Geely’s G-Netlink system that allows for occupants to use the
vehicle as a mobile hotspot via 3G internet connections, allowing for streaming
music and video on the go.
The Chinese name
for the Geely GC9 was announced as being Borui which embodies the muscular stance combined with soft
flowing internal lines within the vehicle.
Geely Partners With Olympic Swimming Team
During the Geely
Brand Night, Geely announced a strategic partnership with the Chinese Olympic
Swimming Team. Geely Chairman, Mr. Li Shu Fu symbolically passed a key to the
swimming team Chief Coach whilst leading swim team members Liu Yang, Ye
Shi Wen and Ning Ze Tao were on hand to witness the event. Mr. Ning commented: “
The Geely GC9 has an emotive design, high quality and is well equipped with
high levels of technology. Geely’s transformation into a leading Chinese car
manufacturer also matches our own transformation story as both Geely and our
swimming team have both become champions in their respective areas.”
Geely chose to
partner with the Chinese Olympic Swimming Team owing to the teams considerable
transformation on the global stage;by continually testing themselves on the international
stage and showing team spirit, the swim team has continually improved. At the
same time Geely developed along a similar parallel, through continuous
innovation and self-improvement Geely has continued to enter into the
international arena where it has achieved multiple success.
As part of New Generation Geely, multiple new
models will be introduced over the course of 2015 and 2016 which will be
developed by our global design and engineering facilities and will embody Geely’s
new slogan of Dynamic and Refine,
Confident and Inspiringphilosophy.
The GC9 will go on
sale in the first quarter of 2015.