2026 Geely Coolray launched in South Africa with Proton X50 parts, CBU China?

The 2026 Geely Coolray recently went on sale in South Africa, with three variants on offer. This marks the third model that Geely is currently offering in South Africa, after the Geely Galaxy E5 (Proton eMas 7 to us) and Geely E2 (Proton eMas 5 to us).

On the surface, this may seem strange, considering that Proton still sells the Proton X50 in South Africa. That said, Proton’s future in South Africa is coming to an end as the distributorship with the South Africa-based Combined Motor Holdings (CMH) group was terminated. Geely has re-entered South Africa after nearly 10 years of absence.

From the exterior, the South African-spec Geely Coolray, in its Nova and Vertex trim are largely identical to the China-market Geely Boyue L, down to the aggressive front facia with X-shaped front grille, while the Vanguard variant gets a more tame-looking front fascia that’s reminiscent of the pre-facelift model.

It’s the interior that the Geely Coolray differs from the China-market model, as the right-hand Coolray features the same cabin as our Proton X50 – down to the 8.88-inch digital driver display, 14.6-inch infotainment display, as well as 72-colour ambient lighting system.

Despite the interior looking just like our Proton X50, does it necessarily mean that the Geely Coolray is made in Tanjong Malim alongside our Proton X50? While the plant does export models overseas, this is not one such case, as a source has informed us that the Tanjong Malim plant currently produces left-hand drive (LHD) versions of the Geely Coolray for the Vietnamese market. Thus, it's more likely that the RHD Coolray seen here is manufactured at Geely's plant in Ningbo, China. 

Last but not least – the price. Prices of the Geely Coolray start from ZAR 369,900 (~RM 92k) and tops out at ZAR 429,900 (~RM 107k). That’s a big difference compared to the Proton X50, which retailed for ZAR 449,900 (~RM 112k) to ZAR 579,900 (~RM 145k).