![SMA Shanghai Auto Company](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/SMA_Shanghai_Auto_Company.JPG)
Maple (Maple Automobile Co., Ltd.) (Chinese: 枫叶) is a Chinese
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
manufacturing company based in
Fengjing, Shanghai
Fengjing () is a town in Jinshan District, Shanghai. An ancient water town, it also has a new town with a Canadian theme and an industrial zone. It is a centre for Jinshan peasant painting.
Fengjing has an area of , and had a registered populatio ...
, and a subsidiary of
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
History
Originally Shanghai Maple (SMA, Shanghai Maple Automobiles), the brand was established in 2000 producing Huapu (Maple) branded vehicles. Geely acquired a strategic holding in Shanghai Maple in 2002, and in 2008 Shanghai Maple was fully consolidated into Geely as their budget brand before phasing it out in 2010.
The first Shanghai Maple vehicle was produced in the summer of 2003, based on the 1990s-era
Citroen ZX.
The
Maple Marindo
The Maple Marindo or Haifeng (海锋), Maple Hysoul or Haishang (海尚), and Maple Haiyu (海域) are 4-door compact sedans and 5-door compact liftbacks from Chinese manufacturer, Shanghai Maple, subsidiary of Geely Automobile. It is essentially ...
was displayed at the 2005
Frankfurt Motor Show.
The export of Shanghai Maple vehicles to Egypt began in 2007, where were marketed as the C51 (saloon) and C52 (saloon with Audi style grille). A sportier R80 hatchback and R81 saloon were exported to markets including Russia and Chile. In 2010 Geely partially phased-out the Shanghai Maple marque, replacing it with the
Englon
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd (ZGH), commonly known as Geely (吉利 "auspicious"), is a Chinese Multinational Corporation, multinational automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company is Priv ...
budget brand.
In February 2013, Shanghai Maple and
Kandi Technologies
Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. is a Chinese battery and electric vehicle manufacturer. Kandi is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange with ticker KNDI. It was founded in 2002 in Jinhua, Zhejiang by Hu Xiaoming.
History Kandi partnership with Ge ...
announced that they had agreed to establish a 50:50 joint venture, Zhejiang Kandi Electric Vehicles Investment, with an initial registered capital of 1 billion yuan (US$160 million), focused on the research and development, production, marketing and sale of electric vehicles in the Chinese mainland.
The joint venture agreement was signed on 22 March 2013.
As of 2020, the Maple brand was revived as a result of a partnership between Geely and Kandi Technologies. Geely holds 78 per cent of Fengsheng Automotive Technology Group, the remaining 22 per cent is owned by Zhejiang Kandi Vehicle or Kandi Technologies. The business purpose is officially stated as research, development, and sales of electric vehicles and vehicle parts,
vehicle leasing services, and relevant after-sales services. The revived Maple brand will make a series of affordable electric cars based on existing Geely petrol cars. The first Maple product is the
Maple 30X
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
, based on the Geely Vision X3. According to the Maple product launch plan, a mid-size SUV, a mini hatchback and an ultra-mini hatchback are planned for 2021. The Chinese manufacturer also announced that an electric pickup and an electric roadster is in the pipeline.
In March 2021, Kandi Technologies exited its stake, transferring its 22% equity interest in Fengsheng to Geely.
In 2022, Geely launched the joint venture between
Lifan and Maple called Livan (Ruilan, 睿蓝). Geely announced the launch of the Maple Leaf 60S , Geely’s first battery swap car under the Livan brand, produced in association with Lifan and based on the Geely Emgrand GL.
During the Livan brand launched later in June 2022, a brand new model, the Livan 7 electric fastback crossover was teased, while a few days later at the 2022 Chongqing Auto Show, the Livan 9 electric mid-size crossover SUV was shown for the first time being developed based on the
Geely Haoyue.
Current products
* 2020–
Maple 30X
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
— 5-door Electric subcompact
crossover SUV
A crossover, crossover SUV, or crossover utility vehicle (CUV) is a type of automobile with an increased ride height that is built on unibody chassis construction shared with passenger cars, as opposed to traditional sport utility vehicles (S ...
* 2020–
Maple 80V
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since ht ...
— 5-door Electric
MPV
* 2021–
Maple 60S
The Geely Emgrand L and the previous Geely Emgrand GL are small family cars produced by Chinese auto brand Geely under the Emgrand product series. The Emgrand GL was produced from 2016 and the Emgrand L was produced from 2022 as an heavily update ...
— 4-door Electric
compact sedan
*2022– Livan 9 — 5-door Electric
mid-size crossover SUV
Mid-size crossover SUV is an automobile classification used mainly in North America to describe a segment of crossover SUV, a type of sport utility vehicle, between compact crossover SUV and full-size crossover SUV.
A mid-size crossover SUV ...
*2022– Livan 7 — 5-door Electric fastback
compact crossover SUV
Previous products
* 2008–2010 Maple Haiyue (海悦) — 5-door
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
* 2003–2010
Maple Hisoon (海迅) — 4-door
sedan & 5-door
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
* 2005–2010
Maple Haiyu (海域) — 4-door
sedan & 5-door
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
* 2005–2010
Maple Hysoul
The Maple Marindo or Haifeng (海锋), Maple Hysoul or Haishang (海尚), and Maple Haiyu (海域) are 4-door compact sedans and 5-door compact liftbacks from Chinese manufacturer, Shanghai Maple, subsidiary of Geely Automobile. It is essentially ...
(海尚) — 4-door
sedan
* 2003–2010
Maple Hisoon (海炫) — 5-door
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
* 2004–2010
Maple Marindo
The Maple Marindo or Haifeng (海锋), Maple Hysoul or Haishang (海尚), and Maple Haiyu (海域) are 4-door compact sedans and 5-door compact liftbacks from Chinese manufacturer, Shanghai Maple, subsidiary of Geely Automobile. It is essentially ...
/Haifeng (海锋) — 1.8 L 4-door
sedan
* 2009–2010
Maple Haijing
The Geely Yuanjing sedan is a four-door compact sedan produced by the Chinese automaker Geely under the Yuanjing or Vision product series. It is the first commercial car produced by Geely Automobiles. The car was first introduced in 2006. It carr ...
(海景) — 4-door
sedan
File:Shanghai Maple Biaofeng 01 China 2012-08-09.jpg, A Maple Whirlwind
File:Shanghai Maple Haiyu hatch 01 China 2016-04-13.jpg, A Maple Marindo hatch
File:Shanghai Maple Haiyu sedan 01 China 2012-06-09.jpg, A Maple Marindo sedan
File:Shanghai Maple Haixun hatch 01 China 2015-04-17.jpg, A Maple Hisoon hatch
File:Shanghai Maple Haixun sedan 01 China 2012-08-09.jpg, A Maple Hisoon sedan
File:Shanghai Maple Haishang 01 China 2017-03-29.jpg, A Maple Hysoul
File:Shanghai Maple Haifeng 01 China 2012-07-14.JPG, A Maple Haifeng
References
{{Automotive industry in China
Car manufacturers of China
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2000
Geely brands