Geely becomes one of those rare 100,000 club brands as it hits this target in November

• Geely Sales Boosted by 99% Year on Year Increase 
• Geely SUV Sales Continue to Impress with nearly 40,000 SUV's sold 
• 94% of 2016 Sales Goal Complete 

Geely Auto, a subsidiary of Geely Auto Group, today announced sales of over 100,000 units in November, the first time China’s largest privately owned car manufacturer joined the 100,000 units per month club.

Geely Auto sold 102,400 units in total in November 2016, resulting in a 99% sales increase over the same period in 2015 and an increase of 7% over October 2016.

The New Emgrand continues to impress with sales at 28,842 units, an increase of 32% over the same period last year. 

The New Emgrand initially launched in 2009 and was heavily upgraded in 2014 with the addition of new technology such as CVT gearboxes and ultra-fuel efficient small displacement engines. 

Sales of the Emgrand sedan have subsequently been in excess of one million units since the model first debuted.

The Geely GC9 (Emgrand GT in export markets) accounted for sales of 5,172 units in November 2016, allowing the Geely GC9 to continue with the crown of being the best-selling domestic B-Segment sedan in the Chinese marketplace, and challenging many international brands at the same time.

Geely’s Pivot to SUV strategy, which was introduced in March 2016 with the launch of the Bo Yue SUV, continues to excel for the group. Geely’s Bo Yue SUV saw sales reached 18,402 units, whilst the Vision SUV reached 10,942 units. China’s first urban crossover, the Emgrand GS, saw sales reach over 10,000 units.

The Emgrand GL which launched in late September 2016, has seen sales jump over 10,000 units in November, an amazing start for a recently launched vehicle.

The Vision series continues to be a strong seller with sales of 14,404 units, an increase of 5% in year on year sales.

Export sales still remain a weak spot for Geely Auto with just over 1700 units exported in November, although this translated into a 102% increase over the same period in 2016 indicating that Geely’s Generation 3.0 of vehicles are being highly welcome both at home and on international markets.

Geely’s initial sales goal for 2016 was set at 600,000 units before being revised to 650,000 and then 700,000 units due to strong demand for Geely’s Generation 3.0 of vehicles. In the first eleven months of 2016, Geely vehicle sales reached 657,621 units an increase of 44% over the same period in 2015 and achieving 94% of Geely’s current 700,000 sales goal.  

The countdown to the Golf VIII continues with the lookback at the Golf MK VII.

• Golf MkVII has been available with electric and hybrid drive systems since 2014
• First Volkswagen based on the modular transverse matrix (MQB)
• Press conference livestream on Thursday from 12.30 pm

The countdown is under way: tomorrow, Volkswagen will introduce a major update of the Golf thus continuing the success story of this bestseller. It began in 1974, with the debut of the first-generation Golf. 

The update of the seventh Golf generation in 2012 – the first Volkswagen model based on the modular transverse matrix (MQB) – brought about a car that was connected with its environment more than ever, establishing a new type of digital display and control elements in the segment and bringing assistance systems from the luxury class into the compact class.

Retrospective: 2012. Joachim Gauck is the eleventh President in Germany. Hurricane Sandy turns all the lights off in New York. In England, Adele's new album “21” becomes the best-selling album of the 21st century thus far. And in Berlin, Volkswagen presents the seventh generation of the Golf. It is up to 100 kg lighter and impresses with an armada of new assistance systems. In 2013 it was awarded the internationally prestigious “Car of the Year” title. From 2014 onwards, the Golf MkVII is the first model in its class to be available with both pure electric drive (e-Golf) and with a plug-in hybrid drive (Golf GTE).

Thanks to MQB, it is not only new technologies that reign supreme in the Golf – the design also gains a new dynamism due to its entirely new proportions. The front wheels are significantly further forward.

Consequently the front overhang is shorter while the bonnet appears longer. Head of Design at Volkswagen Klaus Bischoff: “The vehicle cab is shifted backward in visual terms, resulting in the so-called ‘cab backward impression’. That is the name given to the proportions of vehicles from classes above, where the bonnet is long and the cab is located further toward the rear. The new Golf MkVII therefore has the type of proportions usually only seen in higher segments.” Klaus Bischoff and his team have now further honed this design. On 10 November in Wolfsburg, Volkswagen will introduce the new look of the Golf along with new assistance, infotainment and drive systems.

GOLF VI - The countdown to the Golf VIII continues, with the Sixth generation of one of the world's biggest sellers.

• Assistance systems arrived in the compact class with the Golf MkVI
• Sixth Golf conquered the EuroNCAP crash test with five stars

The countdown is under way: in six days Volkswagen will present a major update of the Golf in Wolfsburg. 

That will herald the launch of a Golf which will democratise progress yet again. An ongoing tradition since the launch of the first Golf, 42 years ago. 

With the debut of the sixth-generation Golf (2008), more and more luxury class assistance systems found their way into the compact segment – marking the beginning of a silent revolution in automotive safety. 

Retrospective: In 2008 Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the USA. The Spanish national team wins the final of the European Football Championship against Germany. The English singer Amy Winehouse wins five Grammy awards in Los Angeles and Volkswagen enriches the year with the sixth generation of a bestseller: the Golf.

New assistance systems such as Adaptive Cruise Control ACC, automatically steered Park Assist, automatic main beam management Light Assist, the Hill Hold function and further technical innovations in the form of adaptive chassis control DCC make the car which will later be named "World Car of the Year" in 2009 the hitherto most advanced Golf. And not only that: by the time it was replaced in 2012, the Golf MkVI had madei ts mark in the history of Volkswagen, becoming one of the safest compact cars of its time –  thanks to its numerous assistance systems, up to nine airbags (including knee airbag) and sovereign five stars in the EuroNCAP crash test.

The countdown to the Golf VIII continues with the lookback at the Golf MK V.

• Golf MkV in 2003 demonstrates the muscle of the range more than ever before
• The 200 PS power of Golf GTI MkV is celebrated today as a sporting icon

The Golf's debut in 2003 left many a competitor from the higher mid-class standing with its comfort, dynamism and quality. Just one year later, a 200-PS Golf with black radiator grille and sports seats in the legendary tartan “Interlagos” fabric heralded the comeback of the GTI. 

Demand for the Golf, and demand for the GTI, has never let up since. To date, the Golf GTI is the most successful sportscar in the compact segment. 

The Golf itself is unassailable as the best-selling European car ever. Now just before the launch of this bestseller update in November, it’s time to take a look back: at the Golf MkV and 2003. 

Retrospective: In 2003, Europe experienced a particularly long, hot, summer. Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley feature in ‘‘Pirates of the Caribbean’’. 

The greatest of all little heroes, however, remains the sorcerer’s apprentice in the 55 million-selling book ‘‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’’. The automobile highlight of the year is the new Golf MkV - bigger, safer and higher quality. 

By 2003, the Golf had been the bestselling car from Germany for almost three decades. It has generally come to be regarded as ‘The’ car par excellence, as the only truly classless compact class model. 

And the fifth Golf? It is still built on the DNA of the first generation - but the MkV itself will be visually reinvented. The design of the Golf MkV with the characteristic C-pillar; the powerful rear; the sporty front end and the muscular silhouette rising toward the rear shows pure dynamism. 

Another Golf innovation is the front end: for the first time, the bonnet follows the contour of the headlight, like a sports car.

The countdown to the Golf VIII continues with the lookback at the Golf Country model, the SUV Forerunner.

• Unique: Golf is available in all the usual drive systems
• GTI & Co.: Sporty Golf versions become cult models

When Volkswagen presented the first generation of the Golf in 1974, this was the beginning of an impressive success story. And by this we are not just talking about more than 33 million Golfs produced in total. 

But rather the unique fact that Volkswagen is the world’s first and only automotive manufacturer to offer all currently relevant drive systems in one series – with the Golf. There are also various car bodies and the most individual of equipment lines.

The very first Golf in 1974 thus became the catalyst for a vehicle family that meets an unusual number of mobility wishes.

Golf drivers today have a choice of petrol, diesel, natural gas, electric, plug-in hybrid, front and all-wheel drive. 

In addition, there are various body and special versions that make this series range unique. 

For example, in addition to the two- and four-door vehicles, Volkswagen offers the current Golf in the all-round Variant and Sportsvan versions. The sporty "GTs" (GTI, GTE, GTD) and the all-wheel drive Golf R have also achieved cult status.

Important Golf versions and their debut year:

• Golf GTI – 1976
• Golf Cabriolet – 1979
• Golf GTD – 1982
• Golf syncro (forerunner of the 4MOTION all-wheel drive) – 1986
• Golf City Stromer (forerunner of the e-Golf) – 1989
• Golf Country (SUV forerunner) – 1990
• Golf Variant – 1993
• Golf R32 (forerunner of the Golf R) – 2002
• Golf Plus (forerunner of the Golf Sportsvan) – 2006
• Golf TGI (powered by natural gas) – 2013
• Golf GTE (plug-in hybrid drive) – 2014

GOLF IV - The countdown to the Golf VIII continues, with the fourth generation.

• Clear design of the Golf MkIV is considered groundbreaking
• ESC celebrated its breakthrough in the fourth generation of the Golf

In 1997, the Golf MkIV was created under the direction of the Volkswagen Group Head of Design Hartmut Warkuß (1993 to 2003). 

Today, the fourth generation is considered a style icon – particularly because of its graphic clarity and fundamental C-pillar series design forming a bridge to the 1974 Golf MkI. 

However, the Golf MkIV was not only pioneering in terms of its looks, it was groundbreaking in its engineering as well. 

Volkswagen achieved a totally new standard of quality in this market segment with this car and thus became the first manufacturer to overcome vehicle class boundaries. 

With the debut of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) in the Golf (1998), the car continued to democratise safety. By 2003, 4.99 million units of the Golf MkIV, including all of its derivatives, had been produced.

Retrospective, 1997: Robbie Williams was transformed from a teen idol into a worldwide star with the song and slogan “Let me entertain you”; Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio wrote film history with the US premiere of “Titanic”; and Volkswagen presented the fourth generation of the Golf – in terms of design, the purest and clearest yet. 

Hartmut Warkuß says, “the Golf is a monument. A car that seamlessly followed in the footsteps of the globally successful Beetle. It made good sense to reinforce the company strategy in an evolutionary rather than revolutionary way. 

It is important to demonstrate a high degree of continuity.” And that's exactly what Warkuß did with the fourth Golf. However, nothing is copied from the Golf MkIII. On the contrary, not a single body panel of the entirely redesigned new Golf generation was taken over from its predecessor. 

The front window is flatter, the rear window is steeper, the roof extends even further back. Even Giorgio Giugiaro, creator of the first Golf design back in 1974, expressed his admiration for the new car: “The genetic material of the Golf is still evident in its fourth generation.”

GOLF III - The countdown to the Golf VIII continues, with the third generation.

• Aerodynamic wedge shape in 1991 lowered drag coefficient to 0.30
• First Golf with front airbags sold 4.83 million

The third Golf came onto the market in August 25 years ago. With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear: Volkswagen ushered in a new era of safety with this model. 

On the one hand, the Golf MkIII was the first of the series to have front airbags, starting in 1992, while major advances in car body construction also resulted in significantly improved crash safety. 

The third generation, however, also made a great design leap: it was the first Golf with a wedge shape that was as dynamic as it was aerodynamic. 

Retrospective: The roots of the Golf MkIII date back to 1985. While Mikhail Gorbachev was taking over leadership at the Kremlin in Moscow, and 17- year-old Boris Becker was sweeping his opponent from the court in the final at Wimbledon, in Wolfsburg the development of the third Golf was officially launched. 

In February 1987, Chief Designer Herbert Schäfer submits nine different models of the next Golf to the Board. In the ensuing months, the results are discussed and further refined until the very best design emerged in December and it could move beyond the drawing board. 

In 1991 the Golf MkIII is ready for series production. Herbert Schäfer: “In the first step from Golf MkI to MkII we made the car bigger, provided more powerful engines, and improved its handling. 

In the third generation, design now takes precedence. We have found a look that typifies the Golf: it radiates quality and safety.”

Thanks to the significantly wider track the car has a powerful stance on the road and, as opposed to the previous generation, the wheels are flush with the aerodynamically styled vehicle body (drag coefficient 0.30).

Although no detail, shape or radius was taken from its predecessor, this is clearly a Golf. The MkIII goes on to sell 4.83 million before its next regeneration