Geely Radar RD6 electric ute priced under $38K in China

One of the most common questions we get asked at carsales is “when will EVs be affordable?”. Well, the answer appears to be sooner rather than later, with the upcoming Geely Radar RD6 electric ute priced from under $40,000 in China.

Pre-orders are now open for the new Radar RD6, which has been pegged at 178,800 yuan in its home market, which equates to around $38,300 in Australia.

The Radar brand, which is owned by global auto giant Geely (which also owns Lotus, Volvo and Polestar, among others), already has strong backing to launch in Australia and it could usher in an era of cut-price EVs.

There are stacks of new electric utes headed to Australia in the mid-term future – including the US-built Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning, and perhaps even a battery-powered Ford Ranger – but the flood gates are already open with another Chinese cheapie, the LDV eT60, touching down in Australia this month.

As tradies gear up to go EV, the LDV eT60 will pack a modest (for a truck) 88.5kWh battery pack good for a 325km (WLTP) range, with a modest single e-motor (130kW/310Nm) driving the rear wheels.

By comparison, the upcoming Radar RD6 dual-cab is offered with three different battery packs – the largest with a density of 100kWh, providing a claimed range of 632km according to the generous CLTC measurement, with nonetheless equates to far longer in the real world than the LDV eT60.

In China, entry-level versions of the RD6 get a 60kWh battery offering 400km of range (CLTC) and there’s a mid-spec 86kWh battery delivering 550km (CLTC).

Like LDV’s electric ute, the new Radar RD6 only comes with a single e-motor but it has more stomp – to the tune of 200kW – and although torque output has not been revealed, expect it to be around 500Nm.

The RD6 is claimed to accelerate to 100km/h in a rapid 6.9 seconds. The LDV does the same sprint in a sluggish 18.4sec.

The Radar RD6’s battery can be charged at a rate of up to 120kW, so it can recharge faster than the LDV eT60’s 80kW peak given the appropriate fast-charging infrastructure.

China’s electrified answer to the Toyota HiLux also comes with its own smartphone app that allows remote monitoring and functionality of some vehicle systems.

The RD6 is based on Geely’s new dedicated-electric SEA monocoque architecture – not a traditional ladder frame like the eT60 and all of Australia’s most popular utes.

However, five variations of the SEA platform, which underpins models as diverse as the upcoming Polestar 4 and Lotus Eletre, have been developed to cover a variety of market segments.

These include SEA1 for E-segment (upper large) cars with a wheelbase of around 3000mm, SEA2 for D-segment (large) cars with a 2900mm wheelbase, SEA-E (SEA-Entry) for C-segment small cars with a 2750mm wheelbase, SEA-S (SEA Sport) for sports cars and SEA-C (SEA Commercial) for commercial trucks, vans and buses between 3.5 and 5.5 tonnes.

SEA is capable of housing dual motors that produce up to 400kW and 768Nm, as well as a hefty 140kWh battery pack and, importantly, a towing capacity of 3000kg.

However, these lofty specifications have not been confirmed for the Radar RD6.

We do know it has 450kg payload capacity for the tray, which is less than half of what most Aussie buyers expect. It has 1200 litres of cargo space out the back, while a small frunk adds 70 litres of storage.

The RD6 also comes with V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) and V2L (vehicle-to-load) charging capability, via a power panel with six power points including Aussie-spec three-pin outlets. These allow power tools, generators, appliances, camping gear, TVs and the like to be run via the vehicle’s battery.

It has a 6kW discharge peak, which is enough juice to run most high-power appliances and a lot more than the Kia EV6’s system.

In terms of size, the Radar electric dual-cab’s 5260mm length, 1900mm width and 1830mm height makes it a bit smaller than the twin-cab Ford Ranger’s 5370mm length, 1918mm width and 1884mm height.

The wheelbases are fairly different too, at 3120mm for the Radar versus 3270mm for the Ford, but given the Ranger is now bigger than pretty much every mid-size dual-cab ute on the market, the Chinese electric ute is par for the course in the segment.

Equipment levels for the silent Chinese ute include twin 12.3-inch digital screens, a large digital head-up display, large panoramic glass roof, adjustable ambient LED cabin lighting, AI-powered voice interaction and a dozen or so autonomous driving assistance functions.

The Radar RD6 has not yet been confirmed for Australia but is looking very likely to get the Aussie nod, given Volvo’s Australian managing director, Stephen Connor, recently told carsales he wants to facilitate the Radar RD6’s importation Down Under.

“If you could bring an electric ute into the marketplace looking like that, built by Geely, it would absolutely fly off the boat,” he said.

“If that’s what they want to bring to Australia then we can absolutely help with back-office functions,” he added.

Watch this space.

For everything you auto know about EVs, listen to carsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au