This is China’s Tesla beater

There’s no running away from the fact that the future of mobility will not be powered by fossil fuels — it’s simply not sustainable anymore. For a largely traditional carmaker like Geely, that may be a difficult change to make. That’s why today, the company unveiled Geometry, a new brand that’s designed to focus on new energy vehicles — and a statement that Geely wants to be a big part in the future of mobility.

And with this, comes the company’s first vehicle, the Geometry A.

Geometry A

At first glance, the Geometry A definitely looks the part of an electric or new energy vehicle. Yes, probably doesn’t have the same kind of sex appeal a Tesla does, but it’s not a bad looking car either.

On top, Geometry A features a large panoramic roof much like a Tesla Model S does, but Geely says that the Geometry A is even more aerodynamic, with a drag coefficient of 0.237cd. Besides that, the vehicle also comes with flush door handles that Geely says give an additional 10km of range because of how much it helps with aerodynamics.

The Geometry A also features a bunch of safety features including a Bosch 9.3 ESP system, AEB-P Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, IHBC Intelligent High-Beam Control System, CVW Collision Warning System, and a braking distance of only 37.1m from a speed of 100km/h. The vehicle itself is built with an aluminium alloy and composite materials that Geely says gives it a 5-star safety standard while also reducing the vehicle’s weight. It’s so sturdy that the roof can reportedly bear 4.12 times its own weight.

Geely says that this car has a range of 500km on a single charge, and can be charged from 30% to 80% in just 30 minutes with Fast Charge. They estimate that you should be able to use this car for two weeks between charges which certainly helps alleviate range anxiety. According to Geely, the car is “super economical” as they estimate that it will only cost CNY0.07 (about 4 sen) per kilometre, while they estimate that a 30km daily commute will cost less than CNY2 (RM1,23).

As far as performance is concerned, the Geometry A’s powertrain system provides a maximum power of 120kW and a maximum torque of 250 Nm, allowing the car to accelerate to 100km/h in 8.8 seconds. Geometry A is also the first electric vehicle in China to achieve L2+ intelligent drive. Geely says that this level of autonomy is usually only found on luxury models, but the Geometry A takes full advantage of multiple cameras and milimetre wave radars to make this happen. What’s more, radars on the side and rear allow Geometry to offer RCW/FCW Front/Rear Collision Warning, DOW Door Open Warning, LKA+ Lane Keep Assist, BSD Blind Spot Detection, LCA Lane Change Assist, and ACC S+G Adaptive Cruise Stop and Go.

Other features include APA one-button intelligent automatic parking system, 360° Panoramic Reversing Video, an intelligent in-vehicle system and voice assistant, and a HD driving recorder.

The Geometry A will be launched internationally, and Geely says that they’ve already received over 27,000 orders, 18,000 of which are from markets outside of China, including orders from Singapore, France and Norway. There will be two versions of the Geometry A, a long range (500km) model and a normal range (410km) model, with three variants each. Here’s how much they will be priced in China:

Long range (NEDC500)
Aⁿ – CNY250,000 (around RM153,350)
A³ – CNY240,000 (around RM147,216)
A² – CNY230,000 (around RM141,082)

Normal range (NEDC410)
Aⁿ – CNY230,000 (around RM141,082)
A³ – CNY220,000 (around RM134,948)
A²– CNY210,000 (around RM128,814)

Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether the Geometry A will make it into Malaysia, but we’ll update this post as soon as we find out.

The future of mobility

When it comes to the future of mobility, Geely isn’t just thinking about making electric vehicles. They’re looking into building an entire transportation ecosystem and developing what powers that transportation, which is why they’re calling it new energy. In fact, they’ve got lofty goals too, as they plan to increase new energy vehicle ranges to over 500km by 2020 — that’s just one year away.

According to Geely, China accounts for 62% of new energy vehicles sold globally, which is why the company needs to get ahead in this space. Their focus here is to provide clean mobility, noting how automakers have begun collaborating with technology-centric industries as mobility and technology rapidly come together.

With this desire to develop new energy vehicles, Geely is launching their new brand Geometry. The purpose of Geometry isn’t just to be another Tesla, in fact, they’ve got a rather different approach. Geely says that while a lot of Tesla is about the premium, Geometry’s focus would be on producing new energy vehicles that are as affordable as normal cars today. They want to make these new energy vehicles affordable and accessible so that everyone can afford this future of mobility.

Geely believes that with the launch of Geometry and its first product advances, it will help the company reach its goal of being one of the world’s top ten automotive groups. With Geometry, the companly plans to launch 10 pure electric models in multiple segments — including sedans, SUVs, crossovers and MPVs — by 2025.