Chinese automotive giant Geely, which bought Swedish car maker Volvo in 2010, has come out tops in three out of four JD Power customer satisfaction indexes in its home country.

According to the recent 2012 China Customer Service Index (CSI) report released by J.D. Power Asia Pacific Inc., overall customer satisfaction for after-sales service with authorised dealers in China climbed steadily over the last six years and remained stable for 2012.

Geely’s popular LC (Gleagle Panda in its domestic market), Englon (not in South Africa) and Emgrand (EC 7 to be launched in SA early in 2013) made a clean sweep and are respectively rated first, second and fourth, while most of China’s other homegrown brands have slipped backwards. The three Geely models scored of 865, 861 and 850 respectively, while the industry average was 832 points out of a possible 1 000.

Locally, Geely South Africa has recently opened its own Research and Development centre at its head office in Midrand, Gauteng, to assist the Chinese automaker with changes needed for local conditions before the launch of new models for the 2013 South African market. Geely SA, with 34 dealers in South Africa and growing, markets the MK, LC and LC X on local soil.

“The continued improvement in quality, safety and attitude towards an increasingly demanding buyer at home, benefits the brand globally,” said Henri Meistre of Geely SA. “This is proof that the efforts and enormous resources being ploughed back into the brand, along with the exposure through ownership of international brands such as Volvo, London Taxi Cabs and DSI (the worlds second largest gearbox manufacturer) is paying off,” he said.

While the success has been achieved in Geely’s domestic market, and we doubt it would score as high in South Africa right now, it is a positive sign of progress. The new R&D facility in Gauteng is a step in the right direction as far as catering to our local market goes and we sincerely hope it will ‘improved the breed’ and result in more positive news from Geely in the future.

Do you own a Geely and if so, what has been your ownership experience to-date; good, bad or inbetween?

Source: Geely SA

Geely South Africa has entered into an agreement with Chongqing Sokon Motor Group Import and Export Company to import and distribute a range of value-for-money half-ton light commercial vehicles that will be sold in South Africa under the DFSK brand.

The vehicles will include a pick-up in both single- and double-cab configurations, a passenger bus and a cargo van. The pick-up will be available with either a 1.0-litre or 1.3-litre engine, while the double-cab, bus and van will be available exclusively with the 1.3-litre engine.

“This is a very exciting new development for us and allows us to introduce a new brand in the light commercial vehicle market that will offer a whole new dimension in value-for-money,” said John Jessup, CEO of Geely South Africa.

DFSK is the automotive division of Chongqing Sokon Industry Group, which also manufactures car engines, motorcycles and shock absorbers. The group’s automotive division is well known through its joint venture with the Dongfeng (DFM) brand, which is the second largest in China, and also has joint ventures with Honda, Nissan, Kia, Peugeot, Citroen and DFSK. It also manufactures a large range of highly successful heavy commercial vehicles.

 
Geely say further, special application, vehicles may be intorduced in future, including a mini tipper truck (with both rear and side dump applications), a mini vendor truck, and possibly also an ambulance version.

Source: Geely