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Chery Lui concept
The second of the three main show attractions from Chery, the Lui is a 5door SUV-based CUV. Like the R3, Lui - which translates into 'He' in a Italian - was also styled at Torino Design, and following the characteristics of its name, Lui displays a strong, sturdy and masculine form. With a slim DLO, a large body proportion and strong wheelarch volumes, Lui targets the medium size SUV's such as the Chevrolet Captiva, Hyundai Tucson, Toyota RAV4 and aesthetically similar looking, Renault Koleos.
Again, just like the other concepts from Chery, Lui have set their priority in getting the overall proportion and the stance correct. No standout characteristics of Lui can be called its 'own', apart from an interesting Z-shaped highlight appearing around the rear door where main side surface and the rear wheelarch volume meets.
Although arranged in a slightly different layout, the front-end detail strongly resembles that of Renault design, particularly that of Koleos, where the grille starts merging towards to the middle from the headlamps.
The rear-end is dominated by the spare tire, and this has forced the taillamps to move out high and wide, and also dictated a very low rear bumper line, losing some of the promising stance which was created at the side of the vehicle.
Just like the North American automotive market, it definitely looks as if CUV is the trend in China right now, and sources say that Lui will get a long-hard look for production, if the public response is positive.
Even though stationed on the fringe of the second floor at the main 1A hall, Liebao's UU CT3 compact pick-up was attracting plenty of interest throughout the show. Liebao, displaying three concepts at the show - UU CT3, CS6-Y and CS7 - all CUVs.
Positioned in a compact segment, while UU CT3 may never make it into the production stage, it certainly showed plenty of interesting automotive styling cues. The UU CT3 has excellent proportions between the hood, greenhouse and the payload. Details include a two-tone treatment of the body to door, with a band of orange surrounding the frame of the door.
Off-road driving is definitely out-of-bounds for this pick-up, and it is interesting to note that if the styling indications are correct, the main target for this vehicle would surprisingly be women. Heavily rounded corners and organic overall surfacing breaks away from the usually boxy North American pickups, and cheeky headlamp and fog-lamp details add fun to the vehicle. The UU CT3 might be one of many CUV's at the show, but definitely with an ingenuity not seen on others.
Nissan Geniss
As part of developing a new family of global cars over the next two years, Nissan have showcased the Geniss, the first Nissan car ever to have its world release in China. The Geniss concept is a 'luxurious, yet practical' vehicle, and was developed at the Nissan Technical Center in Atsugi, Japan, and will be built on a Renault-Nissan Alliance common platform. Seating up to seven passengers, Geniss is another CUV on display at the show, with the only difference being that unlike the others, Geniss is a production version and will soon be on the road.
Overall, Geniss might be best described as 'Controlled-Dynamic' version of the Honda Odyssey, where a low overall height on a long cabin creates a very sleek profile. Displaying a typical Nissan front with long-horizontal grille and narrow headlamps, Geniss is without doubt an exceptionally built vehicle.
The jury is still out on whether it will be a success in China, because few global models to enter the Chinese market has been successful recently. Many marketing experts agree that the culture is so different from others, that vehicles must be specifically targeted to the Chinese market. The success or failure of Geniss will not only be an interest for Nissan, but for every major car manufacturer around the world.
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