In China, the 7-seater Geely Haoyue is priced very closely to the 5-seater Geely Boyue (sold here as the Proton X70). On paper, it certainly sounds like a good deal, considering that buyers are getting a larger SUV for a similar amount of money.

At the moment, the Geely Haoyue is priced from CNY 103,600 (~RM 67k) to CNY 139,600 (~RM 90k), while the Boyue is priced between CNY 89,800 (~RM 58k) to CNY 142,800 (RM 92k).

Curiously, the Haoyue isn't selling as well as Geely hopes. Despite the value proposition, Chinese buyers have given the Haoyue the cold shoulder treatment.

Chinese buyers don't see the Haoyue as upmarket as Geely portrays it to be, resulting in relatively poor sales, especially when compared against its fellow stablemates.

This year alone (from January to August), Geely sold 26,417 units of the Haoyue. For comparison, within the same period, Geely sold 154,175 units of the Boyue – nearly 6 times more. On average, the Boyue remains well within the top-3 spots in terms of SUV sales, while the Haoyue finds it tough to maintain within the top-50 spot.

Needless to say, the Haoyue isn’t the volume seller Geely wants it to be. In an effort to remedy its sales, Geely has given the Haoyue a mild nip-and-tuck, less than two years since it went on sale.

In the process, the new Haoyue gains some minor styling updates, such as Geely’s new upright slats in the front grille, as well as some classy-looking burgundy-coloured leather upholstery. Powertrain remains unchanged, with a turbocharged 1.8-litre petrol engine (184 PS, 300 Nm) mated to a seven-speed DCT being the sole option.

Also Read: Proton X90, yet another Proton SUV? Why is Proton saying no Geely sedans?

What about Malaysia?

It’s no secret that the Geely Haoyue will be Proton’s next big model, possibly called the Proton X90. Said model was spotted on Malaysian soil a couple of months ago.

Also Read: Spied: 2021 Geely Haoyue spotted on Malaysian roads - Proton X90 is real after all?

Question is, how much will the Proton X90 be priced at?

In China, prices of the Geely Haoyue overlaps the Geely Boyue, slotting between the regular Boyue and the recently-launched Boyue X.

When it does come to Malaysia, expect the pricing arrangement of the Geely Haoyue / Proton X90 to mirror the Proton X50 and Proton X70, whereby prices of the top-spec Proton X50 overlaps the low-spec Proton X70.

Also Read: 2022 Proton X90 could be priced cheaper than expected, but not necessarily in a good way

Although the Haoyue / X90 is physically larger than the Proton X70, it cannot be priced too far from the latter, as the Haoyue / X90 isn’t as premium as Geely tries to portray it to be. Unlike other recently-launched Geely models, the Haoyue is not developed on the BMA or CMA platform, but rather a curiously-named CV platform. The CV platform made its debut on the Geely Jiaji.

While the CV platform is newer than the Boyue's NL3 platform (Boyue was launched in 2016), it is not as sophisticated as the Binyue / X50's BMA platform.

Also Read: Trademarking of Proton X90 and Proton X80 has started, sign of things to come?

Whether or not the upcoming Proton X90 (if that's the name it'll be getting) will be as popular as the Proton X50 or X70 in Malaysia remains to be seen.

Also Read: Rendered: Proton X90 7-seater SUV, third Proton SUV for Malaysia?