CarBrandLogos archive · Geely · 2005

GeelyCK

An early, unglamorous export that taught Geely what world markets demand.

Photo: Navigator84 · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Geely history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Geely CK, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Geely built the CK for the bottom of the Chinese market and then discovered it had an export product. A conventional front-drive four-door saloon with small petrol engines from a 1.0-litre three to a 1.6-litre four, and a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic, it was assembled from kits in Ukraine, Uruguay and briefly Russia as well as in Zhejiang, which made it many buyers' first encounter with the brand.

Geely CKII · Graeme Bray;Cropped and otherwise modified by uploader Mr.choppers · CC BY 3.0

Design and engineering

That exposure was not always flattering. Independent crash testing of early Chinese exports, the CK among them, was widely publicised in Europe and Russia and became a talking point about how far the industry still had to go. Geely's response over the following decade, buying Volvo and rebuilding its safety engineering around European practice, has more to do with cars like this than with anything the company now sells. Production ran to 2016, with the MK as its successor.

Geely Ziyoujian 01 China · Navigator84 · CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2005–2016

Engine

Petrol engine

Body

4-door sedan

Technical specification

The CK, in detail.

Production: 2005–2016
Class: Subcompact car (B)
Body style: 4-door sedan
Layout: FF layout
Engine: Petrol engine; petrol: ; 1.0 L Straight-three engine; I3 ; 1.3 L MR479Q Straight-four engine; I4 ; 1.5 L Toyota A engine#5A; MR479QA I4 ; 1.6 L MR481QA I4
Transmission: 5-speed Manual transmission; manual ; 4 speed Automatic transmission; automatic
Assembly: China: Zhejiang (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd) ; Ukraine: Kremenchuk (KrASZ) ; Uruguay: Montevideo (Nordex) ; Russia: Novouralsk (Amur (company); Amur: 2007–2008)
Manufacturer: Geely Auto