We witnessed Sojitz G Auto Philippines Corporation (SGAP) officially launch the Geely brand in the Philippines last night, along with the introduction of the new Geely Coolray crossover. Following that, SGAP took another big step as it inaugurated the first-ever Geely showroom in North EDSA earlier today, September 26.
If the name rings a bell, that’s because Geely was previously sold here in the Philippines—a stint that was less than ideal for the Chinese carmaker. Now, Geely is revitalized under Sojitz Corporation and has opened its flagship dealership in Metro Manila. The showroom alone has a floor area of 1,160sqm, while the service center is even larger at 2,600sqm. This facility is, in fact, one of the biggest in the Philippines and also one of Geely’s largest in the whole world.
The highlight of the event, however, was not only the showroom itself but also the surprise display of the Coolray Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) and the Atlas SUV, both of which are currently not yet available in the Philippine market. We’ll take a look at the latter in another story—for now, let’s talk about the Coolray PHEV.
On the outside, it looks just pretty much like the gasoline-powered model, albeit with a slightly less sporty appeal. The cabin is pretty much identical to the non-PHEV version as well, save for the knob that lets you choose between hybrid and full EV mode. Also, it features a black-on-gray interior, unlike the Geely Sport that’s stitched with red leather all around for the two-tone design. Apart from that, the main differences you’ll see are under the hood.
Unfortunately, no specifications for the hybrid setup have been provided as of writing, and the same goes for potential pricing once it becomes available locally. Sojitz marketing services section manager Ryan Isana tells us that we can expect this vehicle to hit the Philippine market by the second half of 2020.
As for the Atlas, stay tuned because we’ll be talking more about that one soon enough. In the meantime, check out our photos of the new Geely dealership and the Coolray PHEV below, and tell us what you think.
