Shanghai show: Emgrand rises again for Geely

GEELY has dusted off its Emgrand sub-brand to preview a concept sedan aimed squarely at the European trio of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, particularly in its local market.

Called the Emgrand Concept, the sleek sedan is the first car to be completely designed by Geely’s design director Peter Horbury.

Mr Horbury, a 40-year veteran of the industry, joined Geely in 2014 after stints at Ford and the now Geely-owned Volvo, and finalised the design of the company’s recently revealed GC9 sedan.

The Geely Design arm of the Chinese auto-maker now has four studios in three countries, and employs 300 designers.

The production version of the Emgrand mid-size sedan is set to be built on an all-new platform designed by Volvo to be shared with its Chinese parent company.

Developed in Gothenburg, Sweden and known as the CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform, the Emgrand sedan will likely be followed by a small crossover SUV slated for next year.

The platform will also form the basis of the next-generation Volvo V40 and a related crossover, likely to be called XC40.

A new Chinese plant under development in the country’s east will reportedly have the capacity to produce 150,000 CMA-based cars a year when completed.

Reports last year suggested that Geely had moved to fold the Emgrand sub-brand – along with its other brands Englon and Gleagle – into the Geely nameplate, not long after displaying the Emgrand Cross PHEV concept at the 2014 Beijing show.

The sub-brand was responsible for 750,000 sales on the Chinese mainland in 2014.

No mechanical or physical specifications have been released about the new concept. Its design is said to have drawn on Chinese visual culture for its inspiration, and provides a “taste of local character into a considered and confident design”.

The interior of the four-door sedan features a full-width touchscreen dashboard, while Eco, City and Sport modes can be selected via the centre console, suggesting that Geely might be emulating its Cross PHEV concept in the powertrain department.

It is unclear if there has been any input into the suspension system by Melbourne-based Premcar who were responsible for the tuning of the suspension in the GC9 luxury sedan.

Geely is effectively in a holding pattern in Australia, only able to be sold in Western Australia due to lack of electronic stability control in its MK small sedan.

Local Geely distributors Chinese Automotive Distributors have been contacted for comment.