- Geely has a history of building cars with air filtration systems to battle pollution.
- Before this latest vehicle, the Icon SUV, was introduced in late February, it already had 30,000 preorders.
- There’s no guarantee that the filtration system actually works against the coronavirus (Covid-19).
Chinese automaker Geely is best known around here as the company that invested in Volvo and Lotus, giving both automakers the chance to do what they do best. In China, though, it’s a major automaker in its own right, and like companies worldwide, it’s trying to figure out how to navigate the current Covid-19, or coronavirus, outbreak. Except, instead of just asking employees to work from home Geely has announced the Icon SUV, a new electric vehicle with N95-certified air filtration certification.
Currently, the N95 mask is one of those pieces of prevention that are sought after to the point there have been shortages in some areas. Adding the power of that mask into a vehicle during an outbreak is a bold statement. In the statement about the new vehicle, Geely said:
“In response to the new coronavirus epidemic, Geely Auto developed in record time, a new Intelligent Air Purification System (IAPS) that is N95 certified. This highly efficient air purification system works in tandem with the Icon’s air conditioner to isolate and eliminate harmful elements in the cabin air including bacteria and viruses.”
Geely Auto
China’s Wuhan district is ground zero for the coronavirus that, as of the publishing of this article, has resulted in 3118 worldwide deaths. 2900 of which were from mainland China. The feature seems to be playing unfairly on the fears of a nation that is dealing with a horrible situation. At the same time, though, Tesla’s Bioweapon Defense Mode air-filtration system was marketed as a way to reduce smoke particles in its vehicles during California’s wildfires.
Geely has a history of combating China’s notoriously smoggy air with in-car filtration systems. Volvo XC60 SUVs sold in China are advertised to reduce outside particles and pollen from entering the cabin.
A coronavirus-fighting vehicle seems like a whole other level, though. There’s no guarantee that it’ll actually work, and by the time the vehicle is on the road, the current outbreak might have already subsided. Still, cleaner air is cleaner air, and the automaker already accepted 30,000 pre-orders before the vehicle was even introduced. So there’s clearly a market.
