Horbury was instrumental in shaping Geely's brand identity.

Sales success is dependent on well-designed products that do not look like cheap knock-offs, and this applies particularly for passenger cars as consumers want their ride to look appealing.

This is where Geely design chief Peter Horbury’s work and genius have been invaluable in the meteoric rise of the Chinese automotive marque.

In 2017, Hong Kong-listed Geely Auto reported phenomenal sales of 1.25 million vehicles, which was an increase of 63% from the previous year.

Compare that to Geely Auto’s sales of close to half a million vehicles in 2012, and it’s obvious the marque has done some serious work in improving quality, after-sales services, brand image and vehicle design over the past five years.



Horbury, who was design head at Volvo Cars when the Swedish premium marque was acquired by Geely Auto’s parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in August 2010, recalled that when he took charge at Geely Auto in late 2011, the Chinese marque did not have a recognisable vehicle design.

“Back then, there was no brand identity for Geely. The cars had many different designs,” said Horbury, who spoke to a group of Malaysian press on the sidelines of the recent 2018 Beijing Auto Show.

Horbury used the animal kingdom to illustrate his point.

“Let us look at the cat family. Whether it’s a leopard, lion or cheetah - they are part of the same family or brand. So, while there is creative freedom - each car has a design of its own, it must be instantly recognisable as a Geely,” he said, while emphasising the importance of the signature Geely “expanding cosmos” grille.



“The grille is very important because it is the face of the car, and the Geely logo surrounded by expanding cosmos rings is a great idea. Nobody else has it, and I have been told it is akin to “ripples moving away when a leaf drops into a peaceful lake,” said the British car designer who has headed design work at Ford’s Premier Automotive Group which comprised Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo in the past.

The Geely Design division has also grown by leaps and bounds over the years.

“We started with five people in Gothenburg, then 10 people in a rented room in Shanghai. That was six years ago. Now, we have 700 design staff in Sweden, Shanghai, Barcelona, Pasadena (in California, United States) and soon, Coventry,” he said.

Geely Design creates unique design languages for Geely’s brands; Geely, Lynk & Co and London Taxi.
Lynk & Co is a new car marque brewed by Volvo Cars and the Geely Group, with a 5-door compact crossover or SUV (sport utility vehicle) simply named 01 as its first car.



The new Chinese brand which touts connectivity as its core value, is aimed at young and trendy consumers.
Last November, a pre-sale of the Lynk & Co 01 saw a record 6,000 units sold out in under three minutes, leading the company to declare that it was the “fastest-selling car in the world.”

Horbury recalled that creating a design language for Lynk & Co vehicles was a daunting challenge.

“We had to create something that is not Volvo, but it should look Swedish or North European,” he said.
In an ingenious move, rather than trying to emulate Volvo Cars, the Geely Design teams took a contrarian approach.

“We did something that was the opposite of Volvo Cars. With Volvo, it’s always daylight - the family, the blonde kids. With Lynk & Co, we used the dark instead - think about it, in Sweden, you have a snow covered landscape; a roaring fire at night. And look at the Bund of Shanghai - at night, it is another world. The lights are stunning.



So, there is method in our madness. With Lynk & Co, we created something that looks a little edgy and dangerous.”

Meanwhile, regarding Geely’s futuristic concept car - the Icon, which debuted at the recent 2018 Beijing Auto Show, Horbury said it was about “Geely getting confident.”

Meanwhile, regarding the design direction for Proton cars, Horbury said it would be tricky.

To recap, in June 2017, Zhejiang Geely took a 49.9% stake in national automaker Proton Holdings Bhd for RM460.3mil.

“I believe in looking at local culture. It would be a shame if you can’t bring the culture to life and put them in the car. I find it disappointing if designers can’t tap into the local culture,” said Horbury in answering a question on the future of Proton design.

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