Geely Concepts

Geely will unveil three new concept cars and the first Geely-made London taxi at Auto Shanghai 2007.

Geely says its aim is to move away from the image of being a producer of bread-and-butter models and highlight its R&D ability. The company also intends to take what it calls "active steps" to enter the North American and European markets. The trio of concepts being showcased at Shanghai point to that goal with their modern engines and greatly improved quality.

Pride of place goes to an updated version of the Meirenbao (Beauty Leopard) sport coupe. An observer can be forgiven for wondering what happened to the rest of the car.

Next comes the Vision II, an updated version of the Vision that started as the FC-1 midsize sedan from the 2005 Frankfurt show. Very little information is available on this car ahead of the unveiling.

The third model will be a second version of the King Kong; the original went on sale last year.

The Geely stand will be further enlivened by the appearance of a prototype China-built London taxi. Last year Geely and the British Manganese Bronze Holdings Plc, proprietor of London Taxis International signed a memorandum of understanding on Chinese production of the iconic London taxicab. After the show's unveiling, production models are scheduled to be built beginning in 2008. The company hopes to raise production to 20,000, destined for both local and export markets.