According to Chinese auto manufacturer Geely, they have just launched the world’s first Coupe SUV with PHEV option. This comes as no surprise as we have seen Geely’s sub-brands dive headfirst into electric vehicles. The company even created a whole new all-electric brand called Geometry earlier this year.
You might not have heard of Geely, but they are actually the largest privately owned auto manufacturer in China. They also happen to be the parent company to Volvo. Volvo, as we know, happens to owns Polestar, the new all-electric auto manufacturer who is introducing the Tesla Model 3 competitor known as the Polestar 2.
The company’s latest step into this electric car market comes with the announcement of their new flagship SUV model. The Xing Yue is a sports Coupe SUV based on Geely’s Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform. This SUV is available with a traditional internal combustion engine, mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid, along with two- or four-wheel drive options.
The Xing Yue will have an electric range of 80 km (50 mi) with a 15.2kwh battery. A smaller 11.3kwh battery option will be made available with a 56 km (35 mi) range. The Geely Xing Yue will have a fast-charging time of 90 – 105 minutes with its respective battery. The plug-in hybrid system increases the maximum power to 190kW with a maximum torque of 415 N·m and a 0-60 of 6.8s.
Along with the typical options found in today’s cars, the Geely Xing Yue also offers facial recognition. Through a Face-ID system, this car will recognize you and adjust settings such as your seat position, mirrors, entertainment system, etc, to your liking. The system also aims to improve driver safety by assessing and warning the driver of fatigue and distractions based on their facial expressions, including blink frequency or frequent yawning.
This electrification option comes alongside Geely’s ‘Blue Geely‘ initiative. This is simply a pledge to push towards electrification with some goals in mind.
- Geely will meet and exceed Chinese government fuel directives to bring average fuel consumption to 5L per 100km by 2020
- Geely will move to sell plug-in hybrid vehicles at a similar price level to its traditional combustion engine range
- 90% of Geely Auto sales will consist of new energy vehicle sales by 2020
- Geely will push forward with research into hydrogen fuel cells and metal fuel cells
- Geely will become a market leader in new energy, light weight material technologies and intelligent and connected systems
By 2020 Geely aims for 90% of its vehicle sales to consist of new energy vehicle sales. Geely will achieve this by introducing three core technologies that will be made up of pure electric vehicles (EV), plug-in electric hybrids(PHEV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), these three technology solutions will be based around two existing vehicle platforms and one vehicle architecture. Furthermore, Geely expects that by 2020 its new energy sales will be split into 65% PHEV and HEV and 35% EV.
