Geely trys to get rid of bad reputation in China

9826 Views 14 Replies 7 Participants Last post by tamernaggar, Oct 14, 2009

logan

Discussion Starter · Jul 20, 2009

Geely has / had a very bad reputation in China since older models had been used as Taxis before VW brought in the JETTA.
Geely trys to built up a new image with theri latest generaion of cars with promoting them as PEOPLES CARS FOR THE WORKING CLASS - this is the new slogan that you can find at local dealerships in the sichuan province.
The sales of Geely cars are very low in 2009 until now according to Geely Dealers in Chengdu.
LOGAN

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dragin

· #2 · Jul 20, 2009

I think you are confusing Geely with another Daihatsu Charade-based vehicle called Tianjin Xiali. The use of this sub-compact model as a taxi was widespread and competed with the larger VW Santanas.
For a long time the Santanas seemed to prevail all over China.

Did the Geely ever really find wide use as a taxi? I don't think so.

No, if Geely has a bad reputation it is because of poor quality. Of course the company is striving to improve, but a poor quality reputation is hard to overcome. Just ask Hyundai........

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dragin

· #5 · Jul 22, 2009

Hi Logan:
Thank you for the correction. I wasn't aware that Geely was previoulsy so popular as a taxi in Sichuan. Was it also used in places like Kunming and Xian?
In any case I'm sure the taxi fleet owners were disappointed at the poor reliability and durability of those early Geely Haoqings.
What about the Chang'an-made Altos. Do they hold up well as taxis?

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dragin

· #7 · Jul 24, 2009

With such reliable performance it's no wonder that Chang'an, Jiangnan, the late Tongtian Auto, and BYD's predecessor Qinchuan all chose to build the Alto under Suzuki license. And now I hear that Chang'an will build the 7th generation of that model.
By the way it's interesting to note that up until 2006, for 8 years the Beijing government banned little cars like Alto from driving on the broad Chang'an Avenue which passes by Tiananmen.

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dragin

· #12 · Aug 4, 2009 (Edited)

jmsteiny said:
Hey dragin, I actually rode in one of the old Geely taxis about 4 years ago, but not in Chengdu. Old Geelys, Xialis, etc. are still used in the smaller towns, at least in Guangxi province. ALSO, in the smaller towns you are now seeing 3 wheel motorcycles with QQ bodies over it (or Spark, Changhe Ideal, even a poor ripoff of the Toyota Prius)!! These are 150-175cc water cooled motorcycle engines, for their size they can carry 4 people at around 40-50kph top speed.......not too bad really! I rode in a couple of these in the last several weeks in a little town called Xing An in northern Guangxi - almost ALL of the taxis in the town are these QQ style 3 wheel motorcycles! They are buzzy, noisy and kind of cramped - and they are a HELL of a lot of fun to ride in! Here's a pic of one, enjoy!!

Hi JM:
Didn't know that Geely had seen such a wide use as a taxi...
As for the three wheelers, last week I saw one that had made it to Gradys motor sales in the little town of Live Oak, Florida. But the body wasn't a QQ. Quality looked horrendously bad. They also carry the Huoyun EV, a Smart Lookalike, distributed by a company called Wildfire, in Ohio.

Sorry to go off topic here fellas.

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