China’s leading privately-owned Chinese car brand, Geely Auto, has received official recognition for its efforts in developing ‘healthy vehicles’ that are able to provide clean air and bacteria-free vehicles.

TUV Rheinland Group, an international, independent third-party inspection, testing, and certification organization, has issued the first Vehicle Level Solid Particulates/Aerosol Filtering Protection China-mark certificate to Geely Auto in late February 2020, highlighting the work that Geely has undertaken in its promise to develop healthy cars.

Geely Auto’s first two models to receive the recognition from TUV Rheinland include the Geometry A pure electric sedan and the Geely Auto Jiaji MPV.

Through research and comparison of more than 40 international and domestic standards, TUV Rheinland’s technical experts have decided on reference to the protective mask standard GB 2626-2006, the medical mask standard GB 19083-2010, the domestic air purifier standard GB/T 18801-2015, the cabin filter standard GB/T 32085.1-2015, and other requirements, and formulated the 2PfG CH0005:2020-02 standard, detailing test methods and certification processes in combination with the characteristics of vehicles.

This certification verified the protective mask-level filterable efficiency of air-conditioning filters, assessed the speed at which the air-conditioning ventilation system purifies pollution in the air flowing in when opening doors and windows, put forward requirements for maintaining micro-positive pressure throughout the interior (used to shield external contaminants from entering the interior without passengers' awareness), and comprehensively tested the aerosol filtering protection level of the vehicle interior under the current technical conditions.

Hu Zheng Nan, head of Geely’s R&D Center, said, “As China's leading automobile manufacturer, Geely Auto has always oriented itself to the market and consumer needs, adhered to benchmarking management, and made continuous improvements, and it is committed to creating high-quality, high-tech, and high-value-added products for consumers. After learning of the epidemic situation, Geely Auto took the lead in launching the research and development of ‘Vehicles with All-round Healthy Protection’ to ensure the health of drivers and passengers. Geely Auto will continue to implement corporate social responsibility to boost green and healthy travel.”

Geely Auto established its Healthy Car Program in response to the onset of the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV epidemic) which swept across China in January and February 2020. Under the program, Geely Auto has set aside 370 million RMB (Rs 386 crore) to develop healthy vehicles that focus on clean in-vehicle air technologies to filter out any harmful bacteria as well as developing new self-cleaning materials for use in heavily used touch point such as grab handles, buttons and door handles. The first two certified vehicles, the Geometry A and the JiaJi MPV will be launched on the Chinese market soon and rolled out globally in due course.