GEELY is a car company to watch in the coming years. With its expanding reach across the globe and the right mix of technology at its doorstep, Geely is making ripples in the automotive market right now and be prepared for waves to come in a few short years.
With Volvo Cars in its portfolio and battery technology right at home, Geely already has a strong range of full electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid cars. So, why is Geely not even launching its Plug-In Hybrid vehicles (PHEV) in Malaysia under Proton? Let’s put electric vehicles aside as they cost much more. But with a PHEV already in their lineup, the Geely Bin Yue which has just been rebadged as a Proton X50, why has Geely been left out of the PHEV model for Malaysian buyers?
Is Malaysia not ‘green’ enough? Didn't we see the recent National Automotive Policy (NAP) looking more towards PHEV and EV’s? Is there a hidden agenda with our NAP that Geely’s management has seen? Why is Proton not ‘pushing’ for Geely to assemble its Bin Yue PHEV in Tanjung Malim and sell it alongside the petrol powered X50?
Meanwhile, in 2015, Geely announced its “Blue Geely Initiative,” with a promise that 90 per cent of the brand’s sales would come from new energy vehicles and that consumers would be able to purchase hybrids at the price of traditional models by 2020. 2020 is almost coming to an end and still no word from Geely management on this promise.
Following through on that promise and together with Geely’s iNTEC brand of technologies, Geely officially unveiled its new energy development strategy which follows four main technological pathways to becoming the leader of new energy technology, alternative fuels, fuel cell, pure electric, and hybrid technologies.
The Bin Yue is a mid-sized crossover. The new PHEV version is powered by a 1.5 turbo mated to an electric motor. Gearbox is a new 7-speed DCT. Battery power is a rather low 11.9 kWh.
This PHEV setup consists of a 1.5-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, a battery pack and an electric motor. That engine is up-tuned for at least 174hp and 265Nm of torque. The electric motor should supplement another 80hp and 160Nm of torque and the combined system output remains impressive. A 7-speed DCT sends power to the driven wheels.
Combined output is 255hp and 415Nm. Range on pure electric is 60 kilometers. 0-100 takes 6.9 seconds.
Design wise it looks mostly the same as the petrol-powered car. The interior is a bit better with a new digital dash and a new center tunnel. We wait patiently for Geely and Proton to let us know their plans. – The Vibes, September 30, 2020
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