The updated Preface sedan could go up against the retiring Accord and Camry
Geely has just launched the 2023 Xingrui midsize sedan in China and it looks so much like a Volvo.
The first showing of this ‘swede’ looking sedan was back in mid 2020 and it was strongly rumored to be rebadged as a Proton Perdana right here in Malaysia.
Well, the current Perdana was a rebadged Honda Accord and so this was an obvious replacement model.
Meanwhile, also known as the Xingrui in China it is slated for ASEAN introduction.
The Geely Preface was designed to be a rival to the likes of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry however both these sedans are heading for retirement in Malaysia and even other countries.
Geely would likely attempt to undercut the pricing of its more established rivals to pull in new customers, all while offering best-in-class features and sophisticated styling.
For the 2023 model year, the Geely Preface undergoes a minor facelift to improve its overall design. On the outside, we see Geely has changed the Preface’s grille from an interpretation of the Expanding Cosmos design to an Energy Pulse grille like the Emgrand.
Under the hood, the Geely Preface features a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder petrol fed engine developed by Volvo Cars.
This engine delivers a decent 187 horsepower at 4,700 rpm and a high 300 Nm of torque between 1,400 to 4,000 rpm. This power is driven by Geely’s in-house developed seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT).
Stepping inside, you will see a pair of large screens on the dashboard, with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system joining an information-rich digital instrument display.
Some of the Preface’s most notable features include a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, autonomous parking, autonomous emergency braking, and lane keep assist. It also comes with power front seats, keyless entry, remote engine start, voice recognition, and over-the-air (OTA) software updates.
This all new sedan is exclusively built in Geely Auto’s new “5G Connected Factory” which is a tour-de-force in car manufacturing excellence. It is capable of producing one car every 30 minutes.
The factory is highly automated with a 100-percent automated welding line and the presence of Automated Guided Vehicles or AGVs that constantly move around the factory to deliver the specific panels and parts to the different sections of the factory.
The AGVs are managed by the super-fast 5G+ network that allows seamless communication between these robots and cloud services that updates live information as inventory levels, production status and the AGV locations.
