English: Place: Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Chinese name: 吉利豪情SUV (jílì háoqíng SUV) Year of launch: 2010

Today Geely is China's largest independent carmaker and one of the most well-known since it took control over Swedish carmaker Volvo in 2010. With recent launches including the Borui, Boyue, Emgrand GS and Emgrand GL, not to mention the 'premium' Lynk & Co 01 and 03 models, and after buying a controlling stake in Proton and Lotus, Geely shows it is the Chinese carmaker to watch. Geely was founded by Li Shifu in 1986 as a refrigerator maker with money borrowed from family and car production started in 1998. In 2013 Li Shifu was the 63rd richest person in mainland China.

Geely Automobile started in 1998 with copies of the popular Xiali by Tianjin-FAW, a licensed copy of the Daihatsu Charade G100. The 豪情 Hoaqing (HQ) was offered in hatchback and stationcar (SRV) body styles. In 2003 it was followed by the 美日 Merrie (MR) and 优利欧 Uliou (MR as well), a hatchback and liftback with a larger boot and sedan respectively. The older models can still be regularly seen in two- and third-tier cities, as well as rural places.

The Geely GX7 was launched in 2009 as Gleagle GX7. Gleagle, Shanghai Englon and Emgrand were new sub brands, supposed to replace the Geely brand on the domestic market. In 2010, before sales of the SUV started, it was renamed Emgrand EX7 and then in 2011 it was finally renamed back to Gleagle GX7, right before the sales introduction. Besides the Gleagle GX7, it was sold as Shanghai Englon SX7 with different bumpers and grille. To make things even more confusing, the Gleagle GX7 was exported in selected markets as Emgrand X7. In 2014, as Geely abandoned its multi-brand strategy, both the Gleagle and Shanghai Englon were replaced by the Geely GX7, still carrying Gleagle badges and Shanghai Englon front bumper. The Geely GX7 was heavily revamped in 2016 and renamed Vision X6 as a budget alternative to the Geely Boyue.

The Geely Haoqing (Pride) SUV is a seven-seater based on the GX7/SX7/Vision X6, reviving the nameplate formerly used for some cheap Charade G100 based knockoff. It was launched as Emgrand EX8 in 2010, then renamed Geely GX9 in 2014 and finally reached the market as Haoqing GX9 or SUV later that year. It had only been sold for a few months when Geely decided to pull the plug, with just 661 units produced according to official numbers it is a rare sight, although possibly numbers were included in Geely GX7/Vision X6 sales, but it is definitely no longer for sale.

Sales figures: carsalesbase.com/china-car-sales-data/geely/geely-gx9-pride/