Next Ford Ranger could be a rebadged Geely, Chinese giant suggests

Geely Auto International vice president Alex Gu has suggested the next-generation Ford Ranger ute could harness tech from the Chinese conglomerate. Gu, who is also CEO of Geely Australia, said that a hybrid Geely ute to rival the Ranger and HiLux is about to enter development in Australia.

Ford has denied reports that it held discussions with Geely earlier in 2026, but asked by carsales whether it was foreseeable the next-gen Ford Ranger could share the new Geely ute’s platform, Gu questioned: “Why not?”

Ford told carsales it did not wish to comment on Gu’s remarks.

Geely’s “deep collaborations” have generated results for Western carmakers. The Renault Grand Koleos is based on the Geely Monjaro, and the new Mercedes-Benz CLA and GLB use Geely hybrid engines.

Asked whether a partnership was possible in the ute segment, using technology from Geely’s new ute expected in 2028, Gu said: “Yes, it should be.”

While carsales makes no suggestion Geely and Ford have engaged in any ute product collaboration, Ford needs to decide on the Ranger’s future.

The Ranger remains a dominant vehicle in Ford’s Australian lineup, but only the plug-in hybrid model launched last year passes New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) limits that penalise carmakers based on CO2 emissions.

“Either they spend a huge investment and a long time to develop a new-energy platform, or they find a brand like Geely for collaboration,” Gu said.

While the US market has abandoned CO2 laws under the Trump administration, Europe and Australia have adopted tough emissions laws that penalise Ford and other brands for selling too many combustion vehicles.

In Europe, Ford is developing a multi-energy commercial vehicle strategy that will be relevant to Australia if NVES laws are not watered down.

Geely’s Gu was blunt about the future of Western brands, saying it will be extremely expensive to develop new electrified platforms for combustion nameplates.

“Today, if you independently create a platform [it takes] a long time, and huge investment … for me today, if I am the owner of a legacy brand, I think [collaboration with the Chinese] is more efficient,” he said.

Asked if Geely’s door is open to Ford, Gu said: “Of course.”

The Geely executive affirmed that the incoming Geely ute will have capability targeted at the segment leaders rather than being a light-duty offering.

“Normal, traditional utes are the HiLux and Ranger. We must create [for] the Geely brand…models to enter into this segment.”

Geely Automotive Holdings executive vice president Victor Yang confirmed, “We are thinking of using the [Zeekr 8X] hybrid system to develop the next-generation pick-up.”

The Geely ute is likely to sit atop a new integrated body-on-frame off-road platform revealed at the 2026 Beijing Motor Show that can support up to 745kW of hybrid power.

It is unusual for a senior carmaker executive to openly bid for collaborations with other brands, but the timing of Gu’s comments go straight to the heart of a major industry challenge.

Australians love utes – and the Ranger is the best-selling ute of them all right now.

However, Ford currently relies mainly on sales of relatively high-CO2 diesel and petrol variants of its pick-up to generate strong sales.

Those same sales are creating expanding NVES liabilities for the brand. Meanwhile, Chinese brands like BYD are avoiding those penalties, and are even generating credits, because models like the Shark 6 ute use CO2-saving hybrid systems.

Nissan is looking to levereage its partnership with Dongfeng to release a Shark 6 rival and with Geely gearing up to follow suit into the electrified ute segment, it appears to be ‘game on’ in an attempt to woo class-leader Ford into a cash-saving collaboration.

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