AFTER visiting Geely’s high-tech plant and headquarters in China, we had a better understanding of their company and its vision. Geely is by far a leader in technology and innovation. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group was founded in 1986. Eleven years later, ZGH entered the automotive industry and has since been focused on technological innovation and sustainable development.
ZGH has been listed on the Fortune Global 500 for seven consecutive years with assets totaling over 310 billion RMB and employing more than 120,000 people. In 2018, ZGH sold over 2.15 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 18.3 percent. The number of sales has doubled in just four years. “Geely currently ranks third overall in the Chinese automotive market with 6.7-percent market share,” said Ash Sutcliffe of Geely Global Public Relations.
ZGH has become a global mobility technology group. Its business scope covers design, R&D, production, sales and service of whole vehicles, powertrain and key parts, as well as mobility services, innovative digital technologies, financial services, education and sports. Headquartered in Hangzhou, ZGH owns a wide array of brands, including Geely Auto, Geometry, Lynk & Co, Volvo Cars, Polestar, Proton, Lotus, London Electric Vehicle Co., Farizon Auto, Terrafugia, Caocao, Joma, Saxo Bank and Mitime.
Geely is also the largest shareholder of Volvo AB and Daimler AG. ZGH aims to reach 3 million in annual vehicle sales by 2020 and rank among the top 10 automotive groups in the world.
The company has modern, world-class vehicle and powertrain plants in China, United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Belarus and Malaysia, and a sales and service network consisting of 4,000 outlets all around the globe.
Making globally focused cars requires factories that are consistent in their practices, which is why Geely Auto has moved toward implementing Industry 4.0 practices in all of its new facilities that produce Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) based cars.
Geely’s first CMA plant is located in Hangzhou Bay, which is situated close to Geely’s gigantic 8,000 people strong R&D campus. This allows for quick interaction between the teams that develop the car and those that produce the car, meaning that quality is higher than ever.
This is also Geely’s first “digital twin” plant. In addition to the physical plant, Geely CMA plant has a digital simulated twin, which through real-time monitoring and big data ensures that every process can be traced back and analyzed with startling accuracy. Geely engineers can check and set the right amount of torque on a bolt, they can check who installed it and if there would be any issues in the future, creating huge amounts of data that is transparent and easy to understand.
Another added point is that with increasing amounts of digitalization, the production process can be simulated continuously and the process constantly optimized. Like the modular nature of the CMA, the plant itself is modular, as well. Tooling and molds can be switched in and out to produce different models on the CMA architecture. This new plant is a world-class facility that sets the global benchmark for intelligent automotive manufacturing and is more than a milestone in China’s automotive industrial history.
The plant consists of four sectors, three of which are 100 percent automated. Products begin in the stamping shop which has a fully enclosed five-step 100 percent automated production line. A high-precision blue-light measuring robot can detect deviations up to .05 mm and make adjustments as the stamped bodies are being produced. Stamp molds can be swapped out between three to five minutes for the production of different models.
Next, the stamped pieces go to the welding shop which is also fully automated through the use of 395 German Kuka welding bots. The welding workshop with an 80 percent automation level has around 200 Comau robots from Italy and is fully automated on all production lines, thus ensuring consistent weld quality and accuracy. The welding shop utilizes the industry’s most advanced technologies, such as deep penetration laser welding automatic stud welding and Arplas welding. These technologies have been intuitively used in a manner which improves product quality, for example Arplas welding which best retains surface appearance with little to no deformation and minimal thermal stress, is used on the edges of the window frames in CMA-based vehicles. In addition, advanced quality control technologies, such as robotic vision, laser cutting, and digital measurement robots are used to ensure the accuracy of the welds and that the body produced meets the safety and reliability standards of the CMA.
At the environmentally sealed paint shop, German DURR robots autonomously apply uniform coats of paint on the vehicle exterior. Using the industry’s most advanced paint mist capture system, the paint shop can achieve an 80 percent to 95 percent recycling rate. Emissions and waste are minimized with regenerative thermal oxidizer and advanced wastewater treatment systems before being reused time and time again, minimizing waste and lowering Geely’s carbon footprint.
The final assembly shop is divided into five main lines; electrical equipment, interior, exterior, chassis and parts sub-assembly. A highly automated integrated assembly process is adopted with digitally configured tightening tools which can tighten 52 points at the same time, ensuring the integrity and consistency of the entire vehicle assembly. This plant represents a new stage of evolution for the brand, one which places it at the forefront of global manufacturing. With global products, global standards, and global production through CMA, Geely’s foundation in the Global Industry 4.0 era is set. Piece by piece, step by step, the path to Geely’s global future is being unveiled.
In the Philippines, Geely vehicles are distributed by the newly formed Sojitz G Auto Philippines Corp. headed by Mikihisa Takayama as president and CEO, and Yosuke Nishi as executive vice president. The first vehicle they brought into the country this year, which is currently being offered in the market, is the 2020 Geely Coolray, a compact crossover SUV.
The Coolray boasts of a 1.5TD engine jointly developed with Volvo that outshines its peers, the leading seven-speed wet dual-clutch automatic transmission, as well as the outstanding chassis calibration. It has a maximum power of 5,500rpm with 177hp and maximum torque of 255N-m/1,500-4,000rpm—one of the best 1.5T engines in terms of performance. The Coolray is an SUV with high power efficiency, which provides a better experience for the customer with its cutting-edge technology.