Geely Auto’s flagship B-segment hybrid sedan Bo Rui GE has been selected as an official diplomatic concierge vehicle by the Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Missions. The Bo Rui GE comes in either a MHEV 48V mild hybrid or full PHEV plug-in hybrid version.

The Bo Rui GE MHEV is its first mass-produced mild-hybrid B-segment sedan. The 1.5TD engine provides 132kW of power and a maximum torque of 265 N·m. The 48V BSG mild hybrid system provides an additional 10kW of power and 35 N·m of torque giving the model a combined 142kW power and 300 N·m torque, as powerful as a 2.0T engine on the market today.

The mild hybrid system improves response to 0.3 seconds from take-off compared to the 1 second that traditional ICE engines need, making it more suitable for urban road conditions. Acceleration to 100 km/h takes 8.9 seconds, but the real highlight of the mild hybrid system is its improved fuel economy.

According to Geely Auto Group CTO Feng Qingfeng, the Bo Rui GE MHEV delivers fuel economy of 5.8L/100 km (40.5 mpg US).

By 2020, we aim to bring that level up to 25% improving the fuel economy of B-segment vehicles to under 5L/100km. In regards to MHEV technologies, Geely has already become the global leader and will continue leading far into the future.

—Feng Qingfeng

Although Geely’s MHEV offers significant improvements, the company’s PHEV system offers even more. With the same 1.5TD engine, the Bo Rui GE PHEV comes with a combined maximum power of 192kW and maximum torque of 425 N·m.

With an 11.3 kWh Li-ion pack, it delivers an all-electric range of 60 km (37 miles). In green travel mode, the Bo Rui GE PHEV has an average fuel economy of 1.6L/100 km (145 mpg US). In addition, the PHEV version can accelerate to 100 km in 7.4 seconds, fully charge in 1.5 hours, and uses smart technologies to improve efficiency.

All Bo Rui GE models comes equipped with a 7DCTH transmission jointly developed by Geely and Volvo.

The transmission specially developed for hybrid powertrains have a transmission efficiency of 97%, an unobtainable figure for transmissions on traditional ICE powertrains. It improves fuel economy by 42.4% and improves power by 24%. In the future, Geely expects fuel economy improvements to increase to 50% and power to 30%.

By using navigation data the vehicle can automatically select the most efficient driving mode in all road conditions. During a traffic jam, it switches to pure EV mode, on the expressway it switches hybrid travel mode, when the battery is low it uses the engine and regenerative braking to charge it. In areas where electricity is expensive, the vehicle can be set to charge at off-peak hours through the use of a mobile app.

The Bo Rui GE is the first mass-produced B-segment vehicle in China to be equipped with Level 2 autonomous drive technology such as ICC Intelligent Cruise Control, ACC Adaptive Cruise Control, APA Automated Park Assist, etc.

At a handover ceremony held in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, 35 new Bo Rui GE were delivered to the Service Bureau to be part of China’s diplomatic vehicle fleet.

For the fourth year in a row, the Geely Bo Rui has been selected by the Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Missions to be used as part of their diplomatic fleet in China for use by visiting presidents, prime ministers and senior diplomats. On March 20, 2015, the first batch of 20 Geely Bo Rui official diplomatic vehicles were delivered, marking a major milestone for the promotion of Chinese automotive brands. Since then, Geely Auto has delivered more than 185 vehicles to be used as diplomatic concierge vehicles including the full electric Emgrand EV and now the Bo Rui GE.

In addition to being a diplomatic vehicle, the 2017 model year Bo Rui has previously been selected as the official car for various international events held in China in the past such as the G20 Hangzhou held in September 2016. Its role as an official car has helped to change the perception of “Made in China” products.

Geely Bo Rui has become a sales leader among Chinese brands and broke the monopoly held by joint-venture brands in China’s B-segment sedan market. The model’s success was partly due to its status as a national diplomatic fleet vehicle as well as its leading technology package. Since its launch, the Bo Rui has sold more than 160,000 units. This past August, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir praised the new Bo Rui GE after test driving it during his visit to Geely’s headquarters.