Geely PHEV confirmed for Australia

Chinese newcomer Geely will soon bring a BYD Sealion 6-slaying plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) to Australia.

You may not have heard of Geely before but the Chinese car-maker – and parent company of Lotus and Volvo, among others – is gearing up to appeal to middle Australia with a new hybrid SUV that combines petrol and electric motors to improve fuel efficiency.

And if the Geely L7 mid-sized SUV gets the nod for Australia, it would offer a theoretical driving range of around 1200km from its plug-in hybrid powertrain.

The first Geely model to launch in Australia will be the Mazda CX-5-sized Geely EX5, a sub-$50,000 battery electric family SUV. But if that’s the entrée, then a PHEV will be the main meal.

When carsales quizzed Geely Australia CEO, Li Lei, if PHEVs were on the menu, his response was unequivocal: “Definitely”.

He wouldn’t be drawn on the particulars but explained that Geely was “…working on this product for Australian customers. We are focusing on the new energy product strategy, that's for sure.

“So the plug-in hybrid is on our mind and more details will come soon,” he revealed.

If the Geely L7 mid-size SUV does get the nod for Australia, the importer will have two engine types to choose from: an entry-level 1.5-litre non-turbo petrol engine (82kW/136Nm) and a more potent turbocharged 1.5-litre (120kW/255Nm) unit.

They combine with electric motors generating between 107kW and 160kW according to Chinese media reports, and 18kWh lithium-ion LFP battery packs that deliver an EV-only range of 115km (CLTC) and a combined range of 1240km.

“Geely always invests in new energy products including EVs and plug-in hybrids, so we have a lot of products to pick and choose,” said Mr Li, who avoided specifying which new vehicles are under study for Australia.

“Well, my point of view is the new energy solutions are right for the next couple of years in the Australian market. So the combined pure EV and the plug-in or hybrid will be a good solution to provide to the Australian customers.”

As well as pushing into EV and PHEV segments and leveraging the technology and features developed by its European brands such as Polestar and Volvo, Geely is also employing localised chassis tuning on Australian-delivered vehicles, similar to the strategy used by Kia, with which it hopes it will gain an edge over other Chinese challenger brands.

Stay tuned for our first drive of the Geely EX5 mid-size SUV on Monday, February 24.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au