This week saw the re-introduction of Geely to the South African market, the Chinese OEM was in our country around the 2010 World Cup time, with their smaller B-Segment cars, most popular being the LC. While these offered a cheaper alternative to consumers, the Japanese and Korean offerings in these segments proved to be the popular choice and ultimately put an end to Geely's time in the country. However, with the surge in the market from various other Chinese brands, Geely has decided to re-enter our market but with a bolder and better strategy than the rest. How you may ask? Well their product offering to the consumer is not only well priced but different to the others. Geely South Africa isn't waiting to test the market as they coming in strong offering their hybrid and full electric models in the form of the EM-i5 and E5 SUV's.
Chinese cars have shaken the market world over, offering great vehicles, loaded with tech and extras at almost half the price of its European counterparts, this left consumers asking why they should be paying the extra prices for brands they know when these seem good and offer so much more. While this is true, many soon began to learn of the shortcomings of these cars. While the build quality and engines are strong, they were not light on fuel at all. Even the smallest offerings from them were giving average fuel consumption of over 10L per 100km. For a 1.6 litre engine, that was unheard of and quite heavy for ones pocket. So while you were saving a lot on the price of the car, you were slowly paying for it at the pumps. While some of the OEM's are learning the downside to their CVT gearboxes which are more suited to the Asian countries, many are bringing in the models with DCT boxes now to ease the heavy fuel efficiency figures and to their credit, it's good to see that they taking the consumers concerns seriously.
Geely have opted to take another approach, while many still prefer ICE over EV, mainly due to the pricing, there is no denying that people would rather have cheaper alternatives to choose from and that is exactly what Geely are doing. Providing the market with an EV that is not only affordable but one that comes with a great battery and tech that gives a range of up to 430km. The E5 which is Geely's first full electric offering to the country was the star of the launch. With it's clean lines, smooth body work and eye catching LED's, it stood proud center stage. The E5 will be offered in two model trims, namely, the Aspire and Apex. Both are powered by a front-mounted electric motor that produces 160kW and 320Nm of torque, with a claimed 0-100km/h time of 6.9 seconds for the Apex and 7.1 seconds for the Aspire.. The battery that powers this car is a 60.22kWh lithium-iron phosphate.
While this is the model that gained the most interest, the model that would probably see the most sales is the EM-i5 Hybrid as it offers the best of both worlds. With a 1.5L, 4-cylinder petrol engine that proves 73kW and 125Nm of torque that works in tandem with an electric motor that provides 160kW and 320Nm of torque, the total system output equates to 193kW. The EM-i5 has a claimed 0-100km/h time of 8.0 seconds and the model like the E5 is available in two variants being the Aspire and Apex. The battery in the EM-i5 is an 18.4kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery that can give a pure electric range of 83km but combined with the petrol engine can extend the EM-i5 range to 943km! This is better than anything we have in the market at the moment.
The interiors of the Geely's are well equipped with both models coming with a 15.4-inch touchscreen infotainment screen that user interface is more designed to smart phone use and feels with gestures that mimic the the ones you use on the phone. The instrument cluster is a 10.2-inch screen that provides the usual driver info. The rest of the cabin is pretty similar to everything else out of China but the quality of materials used in the Geely's are substantially better. I particularly like the leather seats with its cool design stitching and shape which contours to any body type. The minimalist look is great which not much buttons apart from the dial for driving modes and ventilation controls. I will need to spend time with it to see how it fairs on the road.
Pricing for the Geely EM-i5 and E5 are as follows:
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