The three-row SUV has «registered» in Malaysia under the local Proton brand. It is assumed that the SUV will be offered there in the form of a “mild” hybrid.
A few years ago, the Malaysian company Proton came under the control of the Geely Auto holding, so it is not surprising that models made from “Chinese” replenished its lineup. The first-born was the Proton X70 crossover, that is, the former Geely Boyue (in the Russian Federation, the updated SUV is called Atlas Pro), then the younger Proton X50 SUV appeared, also known as the pre-reform Geely Binyue (we have Geely Coolray). And here comes the third SUV.
New Proton 1/2 crossover New Proton 2/2 crossover
The new crossover has already entered the assembly line of the modernized Proton plant, as the brand announced today. At the same time, the company itself has so far distributed only a couple of “fragmentary” photos of the model, even its name has not yet been named — they promise to fully reveal the SUV in the coming months. However, disguised test samples have been caught on the roads of Malaysia more than once: another batch of spy photos was recently published by the local publication Paultan. So the Chinese donor is unmistakably identified — this is the three-row Geely HaoYue, also known as Geely Okavango in export markets. By the way, the Malaysian specialized media tipped off the X90 index for the Proton SUV.Recall that Geely HaoYue debuted in 2020, and already in 2021 it experienced the first upgrade. The second restyling was carried out last year, such a crossover received the prefix L, because the previous model in China is still in service. Well, the Proton X90 showed the third version of the exterior design: the “Malaysian” has an original radiator grille, the diode stuffing was replaced in the headlights, while the SUV retained the navigation lights lined up in columns – like the HaoYue model of 2021. The dimensions of the X90 are still unknown. The length of Geely HaoYue without attachments is 4835 mm, the wheelbase is 2815 mm. The HaoYue L figures are 4860 and 2825 mm, respectively.
Inside, the Proton crossover repeated the “Chinese” after the first restyling (except for the location of the steering wheel, of course). There is a similar front panel, hourglass-shaped central air vents, a separately protruding multimedia system tablet and a two-story tunnel.
Geely HaoYue after restyling in 2021 1/4 Geely HaoYue after restyling in 2021 2/4 Geely HaoYue after restyling in 2021 3/4 Geely HaoYue after restyling in 2021 4/4 until it's shared. It is likely that the crossover will be offered in the form of a “mild” hybrid with a 1.5 petrol turbo engine and a 48-volt starter-generator (export Geely Okavango has such a system).
Proton models are also available outside of Malaysia, that is, the large X90 cross should appear in foreign markets. As for Russia, the Malaysian brand is not represented here, the original Geely HaoYue/Okavango is not officially supplied to the Russian Federation either. And yet, Geely's three-row crossover can be bought on the Russian market — cars are brought in under a parallel import scheme. In addition, recently a batch of three-row SUVs was delivered to neighboring Belarus.
Meanwhile, HaoYue also has an electric version, and it is also released under a different brand. We are talking about the Livan 9 crossover from the Livan Auto company, which has become the well-known Lifan to the Russians (Livan is now half owned by Geely).