2026 Geely Coolray in South Africa – old Proton X50 look, new X50 interior, 4-cyl; made in Malaysia?

By now, some of you will have been well aware of the saga (pun unintended) surrounding Proton in South Africa. Last month, it was reported that sales would cease with the termination of the national carmaker’s distributorship with the Combined Motor Holdings (CMH) group, and with Geely returning to the country last year, it would seem there’d be little point for the company to continue selling there.

Now, one of Proton’s cars is making a comeback in the market, but not as we know it. The X50 has been reincarnated as the Geely Coolray, the Chinese conglomerate’s first non-electrified car to be sold in South Africa. At first, it seems like no big deal – the B-segment SUV is already on sale in several markets globally, from Philippines to Chile – but the more you look at it, the weirder it gets.

First of all, despite being brand new, the South African Coolray does not receive the comprehensive facelift introduced in 2024 on the Chinese-market Binyue L. That means the car retains the taller head- and taillights and tailgate-mounted rear number plate recess of the original X50, although it does get the large Batmobile-style rear spoiler that was only added to the Proton with last year’s facelift.

But it gets even weirder because this Coolray’s design is actually based on the Binyue’s first facelift from all the way back in 2021 (yup, not even the Binyue Cool facelift that was introduced just one year later). This adds an X-shaped front bumper and a more aggressive rear diffuser. Strangely, while the bumper has cutouts for the X50’s quad tailpipes, they are sealed off on this model. To top it all off, the 18-inch wheels are from the latest facelift, here finished in gloss black.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is on the inside, where the Coolray gets the almost all-new interior from the latest X50 that Proton says was designed in-house. That means South Africa gets the same minimalist dashboard with a bridge-style centre console, 8.88-inch digital instrument display and 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen. Even the distinctive “looping” ambient light motif on the dash has been carried over.

The engine is also shared with the new X50, although this is also the case elsewhere in the world. That would be the 1.5 litre BHE15-EFZ turbo four-cylinder producing 181 PS and 290 Nm of torque, paired with a seven-speed wet dual-clutch transmission and front-wheel drive. Geely claims a zero-to-100 km/h acceleration time of 7.6 seconds, a top speed of 200 km/h and combined fuel consumption of 6.5 litres per 100 km.

The inclusion of the new X50’s interior, along with Proton’s claim that its engine assembly plant in Tanjong Malim now produces components for Geely’s cars in South Africa (and the fact that the car is offered in a shade suspiciously similar to Teal Bayou Green, a Proton colour), suggests that the entire car is built in Malaysia, rather than in China.

Perhaps Geely decided it would be best to continue exporting the car from Malaysia, given that its plants in China do not appear to make right-hand-drive Coolrays. In a rather roundabout way, Proton did become a RHD hub of sorts after all, albeit making Geely-badged vehicles.

Besides South Africa, Proton also says its engine plant supplies Geely cars in Vietnam and Mexico. We know that the company builds the left-hand-drive Coolray for the Vietnamese market (at least until Geely’s assembly plant is operational there later this year), and we assume the same is true for Mexico.

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