Geely to come to UK in 2012
* Emgrand EC7 Focus rival arrives first
* Due in 2012, from around 10,000
Chinese car maker Geely will start selling cars in the UK within 12 months.
Geely Auto UK will launch sales with the Emgrand EC7, which it describes as a C-segment car similar in size to the Ford Focus.
It will come in both hatchback and saloon variations, and be priced from 10,000. A five-year 100,000-mile warranty will also be included.
Buyers will get the choice of 1.5-litre and 1.8-litre petrol engines to start with, however, Geely expects to expand the choice in the future.
The car on sale in the UK will be virtually unchanged from the one sold in China, with only the trims altered. The EC7 was recently awarded four out of five stars by crash test organisation Euro NCAP.
It will be the first of many models that Geely UK intends to sell here with plans to add a model a year from 2014.
The manufacturer positions itself as a cut-price rival to the likes of Hyundai and Kia, and will focus on value for money and a low purchase price.
Matthew Cheyne, market development director of Geely Auto UK, said: Geely is one of Chinas fastest growing car manufacturers and already has numerous automotive interests around the world.
One of those is the ownership of the Volvo Car Corporation, however, our new Geely Auto UK distribution company is totally separate from Volvo operations, he added.
