Overview

The Geely Emgrand EV in Guangzhou, November 18th, 2015. China’s fastest-growing automaker‘s first high-speed electric car was presented today by Geely Auto. Geely Auto launched its ‘Blue Geely Initiative’ on November 18th, which would see the business transition into a new energy manufacturer by 2020, with new energy vehicles accounting for over 90% of its sales.

Geely Auto Group (Geely) has launched an extremely ambitious power project that would see Geely shift away from traditional ICE technology and focus only on new energy car sales and research.

Geely Auto is pressing to overhaul its entire product portfolio from 2016 to 2020 as a component of the Blue Geely Initiative, which will include the mass introduction of new vehicles such as fully electric model, HEV, and PHEV, propelling Geely to become a leading company in automotive technologies in China.

Geely is working on a large-scale electrification project. It aims to have 90% of the cars it sells powered (at least in part) by electricity by 2020. And the Geely Emgrand EV, which you see here, is the first stage down that route.

The current Geely Emgrand EV is the best-selling domestic sedan in China, according to the automaker, with over 850,000 units sold so far, including 160,000 in the first 10 months of this year.

The Blue Geely Initiative kicks off with the new electric vehicle model. The firm intends to shift the majority of its portfolio away from internal combustion engines and toward renewable energy. In the short term, this implies electric vehicles, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids, but in the long run, hydrogen and metal fuel cells. By 2020, it expects to electrify 90 percent of its sales, with 65 percent being hybrids (with or without plugs) and 35 percent being pure electric vehicles.

Models based on Geely’s Compact Modular Architecture, which it is developing with its partner Volvo, will be the next stage. The 1.5-liter turbo plug-in hybrid powertrain will be paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox in Geely’s variants. It also aims to introduce a new hybrid engine in the A and A+ categories next year, which will cut gas mileage by 40-50 percent.

Geely Plans

Over the last 10 years, Geely has been doing ongoing research and development on electric hybrid systems, with the goal of producing its own unique electric solution. Geely aimed to deploy the HEV into A-Segment and A+ Segment cars in 2016, with gas savings of 40 percent in the first phase, 45 percent by 2018, and 50 percent by 2020.

When compared to regular car sales during the same period, the Blue Geely project will save 4.2 million tons of oil and cut CO2 emissions by 3 million tons. Geely is devoted to environmental issues at every stage of manufacturing, from supplier selection to end-user emissions, with the goal of creating a greener mobile world than ever before.

Geely has made significant investments in expanding its worldwide research and development presence, which has resulted in the establishment of the China Europe Vehicle Technology Center (CEVT) in Gothenburg, Sweden. CEVT played a key role in the development of the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), a new generation of scalable architecture on which Geely would be able to create a slew of new products. Geely’s CMA cars will employ a plug-in hybrid system with a 1.5 Turbo Direct Injection engine and a 7-speed DCT transmission, allowing for oil usage of under 2 liters per 100km in 2019, 1.8L per 100km in 2019, and 1.5L per 100km in 2020.

Mr. An Conghui, CEO of Geely Auto Group, stated: “Geely has publicly stated that it would be the first Chinese automaker to meet the government’s aim of a 5.0L/100km petrol requirement by 2020. We want to help consumers achieve their goal of driving strong, gasoline-efficient automobiles, and we are convinced that our Blue Geely Initiative will become an integral element of our corporate social responsibility and development strategy. The five fundamental pillars of Blue Geely will propel Geely to the forefront of the Chinese automotive market with highly competitive cars.”

Geely has identified five main objectives that are essential to the Blue Geely Initiative.

1. By 2020, Geely will achieve or surpass Chinese government fuel economy targets, with average gas consumption of 5L per 100km.

2. Geely will begin selling PHEV automobiles at the same price as its regular gasoline-powered vehicles.

By 2020, new energy vehicle sales will account for 3.90 percent of Geely Auto sales.

3. Geely will continue to explore hydrogen fuel cells and metal fuel cells.

5. Geely will establish itself as a market leader in new energy, lightweight materials, and intelligent and linked systems.

Geely is committed to environmental concerns and improving the world in which it works, thus the company has pledged to reduce average petrol consumption across the board to reach or surpass the Chinese government’s minimum average petrol consumption of 5 liters per 100 kilometers (5L/100km).

Geely’s worldwide R&D presence enables the business to create and assure the quality of industry-leading technologies. With over 2500 engineers situated in Gothenburg, Sweden, Coventry, UK, and Hangzhou, China, Geely is ideally positioned to make the Blue Geely project a reality beginning in 2016.

To promote the Blue Geely project, Geely will offer its plugin electric vehicles at the same price level as existing standard internal combustion engine vehicles by 2020, bringing new energy dreams to a larger population.

Engine, Transmission, and Performance

The new Geely Emgrand EV, which was unveiled today in Guangzhou, China, is based on the current ICE brand. It does, however, include an electric motor with 127 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque instead of a four-cylinder gasoline engine. Maximum Torque of 250Nm of torque.

The Geely Emgrand EV is powered by a 44.8kwh battery pack that allows it to go 330km at 60km/h or 253km in a mixed driving scenario. The 95-kilowatt motor will create 250Nm of force and accelerate from zero to fifty kilometers per hour in under 4.3 seconds. The engine is mounted in front and drives the front steering wheel through a single-stage gearbox.

Range, Charge & battery

The power is stored in a 44.8-kWh battery pack that can go up to 205 miles at 37 mph before needing to be recharged or 157 miles at other speeds ( Emgrand EV leads the market with a 330km range). The Chinese carmaker hasn’t released complete performance figures, but it claims the Emgrand EV will hit 50 km/h in 4.3 seconds from a standstill.

The Geely FE and PE platforms will be utilized to develop mid-range and high-end pure electric cars, with the first automobile being the Geely Emgrand EV, which can go 330 kilometers on a single charge.

Two charge connections are included with the Geely Emgrand EV, allowing for two different charging speeds. A full charge will take 14 hours if plugged into a standard outlet. A rapid charger, on the other hand, would complete the task in only 48 minutes.

The Geely Emgrand EV has two charging ports: a slow charge port and a quick charge port. Users who install the rapid charger or have access to a public fast-charging station may charge their EV using a standard socket in 14 hours from zero to full capacity. Customers who use the rapid charger or have access to public fast charger facilities can charge their EV in 48 minutes from zero capacity.

By 2018, Geely hopes to increase the range of its FE platform-based electric vehicles to 400km while using a maximum of 13kWh of power, and subsequently to 500km while using just 8kWh of electricity.

Exterior design

Geely’s ambitious new Blue Geely clean energy project kicks off with the Geely Emgrand EV.

The Geely Emgrand EV has a body that is nearly identical to the popular petrol version, measuring 4631 x 1789 x 1495mm (LxWxH) with a 2650mm wheelbase.

Infotainment and Connectivity

The Geely Emgrand EV features a ninth-generation Bosch ESP system, Traction Control System (TCS), Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), Hill Hold Control (HHC), and a Regenerative Braking System (RBS), Electronic Parking Brake (EPB), and Electronic Power Steering (EPS).

The Geely Emgrand EV has Geely’s G-Netlnk intelligent vehicle technology, which allows customers to display their mobile phone screen straight into the car’s onboard entertainment system, allowing them to utilize existing mobile phone navigation apps with ease. Engineers at Geely Auto have also spent a lot of time refining the noise levels in the Geely Emgrand EV; without the drone of an engine in the background, a new level of NVH work is needed to make the interior noise-free.

Driving & Safety

To maximize efficiency or throttle responsiveness, Users of the Geely Emgrand EV have three driving modes to choose from: ECO, ECO+, and Sports driving modes. The first two choices allow for lean and ultra-lean operation, while sports mode provides a faster response to the accelerator pedal. The Geely Emgrand EV’s dashboard will remain blue in ECO mode but will change to a bright orange hue if the driver switches to sports mode. The dashboard also shows the remaining range, battery capacity, and current power use.

In order to show that the battery pack is safe for use in the Geely Emgrand EV, Geely conducted seven safety tests to simulate the pressures that the battery pack will face in the event of a major accident. These tests included fire, direct impacts, and piercing.

Geely Emgrand EV Price & Sales

Geely’s first releases from its new factory, the first electric car at an economical price of $9200, Geely unveils its fifth-generation factory in the “Dragon Bay” region of China, despite the global crisis in semiconductors and energy and the tendency of some car companies to close some of their factories, but Geely opens a new factory

When compared to a typical gasoline car, the Geely Emgrand EV’s operating costs are quite cheap.

The Geely Emgrand EV consumes 15.8kWh of electricity every 100km, and because Hangzhou charges 0.54RMB per kWh of power, each 100km of driving costs just 8.5RMB (1.34USD/1.24Euro), a quarter of the cost of a gasoline-equivalent over the same distance.

The Geely Emgrand family of cars has sold 850,000 units since its launch six years ago. The Geely Emgrand sold 20,079 units in October 2015, while the Emgrand family sold a total of 160,000 units in the first 10 months of 2015, making it the best-selling domestic Chinese sedans.

The Geely Emgrand EV, as the first vehicle from the ‘Blue Geely Initiative,’ has been favorably accepted by its initial customers, which include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Diplomatic Personnel Service Bureau in Beijing and the popular CaoCao Car Rental service.

Warranty

The Chinese Central Government is presently granting a subsidy of 54,000RMB for the Geely Emgrand EV, which is being matched by local governments, giving the Geely Emgrand EV a total subsidy of 108,000RMB throughout China; however, subsidy amounts vary between cities. The Emgrand EV comes with a four-year, 100,000-kilometer guarantee from Geely, as well as a five-year, 100,000-kilometer warranty on the powertrain.