Back in 2004 Geely was still a new and tiny Chinese automaker. They basically had one platform and used that to develop a rather amazing series of different cars. On the first photo a pristine Geely Haoqing hatchback.
The Haoqing, also known as HQ, was based on the Tianjin Xiali, which in turn was based on the Daihatsu Charade. The Geely Haoqing debuted in 1998 and was made until 2006. Power came from a 53 hp 0.9 liter three-cylinder petrol engine, made in China but originally developed by Daihatsu.
A Geely Merrie Uliou. This was a sedan developed by Geely based on the Haoqing. Basically, they just added a trunk. It worked rather well, I always considered it a nice looking sedan. Classy wheels as well! It is not based on the Xiali sedan, which had a completely different design. The Merrie series was made from 2003 until 2006. It was powered by a Geely 1.3 liter four-cylinder engine with 86 hp.
The Geely MR notchback is by far the oddest and coolest variant on the platform. A unique design with a notchback rear end:
It must have been quite a bit of work. Everything from the C-pillar to the back is of a totally new design. Geely dressed it up nicely with a sporty spoiler and the same sporty wheels as on the sedan. It could be had with a 1.3 or a 1.5 liter engine. Sadly, the market didn’t really get the notchback idea and it proved to be an unpopular car. Production started in 2003 and ended in 2006. These are probably the rarest early Geely’s today.
In the early 00’s, when the car market began too boom, the car modification business heated up as well. Body kits became very popular. At the time, those kits were simple affairs, made of cheap plastic and with overdone design. The kit on this Haoqing is a good example. It comes with big new bumpers and side skirt, and an entirely new grille combination that is simply put in place in front of the real grille. It also has large roof rails and a complex wing-spoiler arrangement at the back.
Red cars are always the best cars! Another modified Haoqin. Note the pay phones in the background. All gone now. Interestingly, when Geely noted the popularity of modification, they developed a factory-modified Haoqing, called the Baofeng GT Sport. It looked better than the after-market stuff, but just not as cool.
Much more Geely on the way!
One thought on “Random Geely Spots In Beijing In 2004”