This is why the Geely Okavango should never become a Proton Okavango
Jerrica · Nov 6, 2020 10:49 AM
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In case you missed it, Geely recently launched the Geely Hao Yue 7-seater SUV in the Philippines. As like all Geely models, the Hao Yue was given a “global” name, so it is known as the Geely Okavango in the Philippines. This has raised a few eyebrows in the Malaysian Tamil-speaking community as Gokul from Bigwheel explained that the term “Okavango” has a different (and very vulgar) meaning in Tamil.
The name “Okavango” actually came from the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Africa. Geely Philippines had picked the name because it is one of the seven natural wonders of Africa and also listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage wonders of the world.
So, while the Hao Yue in Chinese means “heroic” and the Okavango in the Philippines implies it is a natural wonder, but to the local Indian community, especially those who speak the Tamil language, “Okavango” simply means “let’s have sex” in a very vulgar manner in Tamil.
So, you see why the name Okavango should never go to any country with a Tamil speaking community. It would be the joke of the century for them and not to mention very difficult for those who actually bought the car.
Who knows, if they ever have the unfortunate encounter with a Tamil-speaking “Karen”, things might get very difficult.
Hopefully, Geely would reconsider the naming option for the Haoyue when they decide to introduce the SUV in other countries.
But based on the current trend of Geely streamlining their “international market” names like the Geely Xing Yue as the Geely Tugella and the Geely Xing Rui as the Geely Preface, I’m not optimistic.
The Geely Bo Yue - aka the Proton X70 - was the last model sold under multiple different names in different countries; Geely Azkarra in the Philippines, Geely Emgrand X7 Sport in South America and Russia, Geely Atlas in other parts of the world. Confusing, I know.
Thankfully, there is very little chance the Geely Hao Yue will ever make it to Malaysia. As of yet, Proton has no immediate plans to introduce a 7-seater SUV here.
Even so, if ever Proton does decide to introduce the Hao Yue here, the SUV might likely not be named the Okavango but the Proton X90 instead.
There isn’t a time in memory that doesn’t involve staring at cars. After discovering the excitement of watching Schumacher vs Hakkinen, Formula 1 became a major part of life. The love for cars and F1 ultimately led to a job with CAR Magazine. The untimely death of the magazine meant a hiatus from cars at lifestyle women’s magazine Marie Claire before another opportunity came knocking again.
