Only a week after Geely’s Emgrand EC7 became the first Chinese vehicle to receive a respectable four out of five star safety rating under the Euro NCAP crash tests, and the owner of Volvo Cars announced that it is getting ready to enter the UK’s new car market with the first models to arrive at the end of 2012.
The Chinese automaker said that it has reached an agreement with the UK’s Manganese Bronze Holdings plc (MBH) to become their official distributor for the United Kingdom for the sale of new Geely cars, the supply of parts, to establish a dealer network and to provide an after-sales service.
Geely’s first entry into the British market will be the Skoda Octavia-sized Emgrand EC7 in both four-door saloon and five-door hatchback body styles and a choice of 1.5- and 1.8-liter petrol engine options.
Geely said that all Emgrand EC7 models will be “well equipped” and carry a five year, 100,000 mile (160,000 kilometer) warranty with prices to start from around £10,000 (approx. US$15,700 or €11,600).
“We are starting with a clean sheet of paper with the distribution of Geely passenger cars into the UK, the first major Western European country to receive them,” said Matthew Cheyne, Market Development Director of Geely Auto UK.
“We will be aiming to widen our range just as quickly as possible, probably at least a new model range every year for the next four to five years. At this stage we are not volume driven but we will increase our sales significantly as customers get to know our products and more models are added to the range. Our priority at launch is to have a representative network who wants to work with us to deliver real customer satisfaction,” he added.
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