Zhejiang Geely Automobile Group Co. vows to strengthen its research and development capability as part of its efforts to rid itself of the image of a cheap car maker.

 

Geely plans to spend more than one billion yuan ($146 million) on research and development in 2009, which will account for about 8 percent of the company's annual sales revenue, Geely's chairman Li Shufu told Automotive News China in Beijing.

 

Li says Geely will focus on making fuel-efficient, safe and eco-friendly cars with good quality. "Geely will no longer make cars with prices of below 40,000 yuan ($5,848)," he says. 

 

Chery has about 1,700 engineers in its r&d center, Li says.

 

Geely is pushing for a national standard for tire pressure monitoring systems, he adds. Geely developed its own tire pressure monitoring system last year.

 

A tire pressure monitoring system warns a car driver when the tire pressure falls below a certain limit. 

 

Geely also unveiled a methanol-powered Haifeng small car last year.

 

In January this year the government started subsidizing fleet operators such as taxi companies and post offices if they buy hybrid, electric and fuel-cell vehicles.

 

Li says he has urged the government to include methanol-powered cars into the subsidy program.

 

Geely sold 184,794 units in 2008, up 0.3 percent from 2007, according to Jato Dynamics.