2027 Geely ute plans detailed: New hybrid ute will come late to battle 2026 BYD Shark 6 and Chery diesel plug-in hybrid rivals

Geely has spilled some essential information on its coming ute.

The boss of Geely’s Australian operation Alex Gu shared some of the brand’s thoughts on its new ute, and how it will come later than rivals but may have some surprises in tow, which he hopes will “exceed” expectations.

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“I hope it will be available within two to three years,” he said.

It will be a little bit different from the upcoming Geely Cruiser 4x4 concept shown in 2025 and its off-road architecture shown at the Beijing Motor Show, according to Gu.

“Pick-ups in Australia are an off-road pick-up. So this, we will study. It is unique knowledge because Geely, we don’t have those kinds of historic platforms. But, we will study and create [one] to satisfy that ute market,” he said.

Gu added the new-from-the-ground-up ute would definitely be a plug-in first.

“It will be New Energy first. It could be plug-in but for the next-generation I’m not sure, so far it is being based on studies,” he said.

This could come in the form of a unique range-extender style set-up, with one shown at the Horse Powertrain stand at the 2026 Beijing Motor Show.

Horse Powertrain, which is an independent spin-off from both Geely and Renault specifically for developing engines, had multiple new powertrain options to show, with two suited for any ute or off-roader.

The first is a range-extender style set-up, which Horse Powertrain staff told CarsGuide was developed to either add to a battery electric platform, or with its compact dimensions, sit between the frame-rails of a ladder-frame 4x4.

The unit, dubbed C15, is a new 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, which can be placed upright or lay flat like a boxer engine, with an overall height of just 275mm. In turbocharged form it can produce up to 120kW, and can act either purely in range-extender form or combine with a dual electric motor transmission to provide direct drive to the wheels.

There is the possibility of a 3.0-litre V6 from Horse Powertrain to power Geely’s ute, although this would require a platform we’re yet to see, something even more capable than the Geely off-road architecture shown at Beijing.

Horse Powertrain’s new engine, dubbed the W30 was specifically referenced by Gu as a possibility.

“The V6 we use two to four electric motors to make even bigger horsepower, so this is a very good upgrade of technology, [with which] you can do different things.”

Horse says the W30 is is capable of outputting 350 - 400kW of power and up to 700Nm of torque, but is intended to be mated to its 4LDHT transmission, which is a four-speed unit with a huge electric motor on the rear capable of producing an additional 400kW.

Horse Powertrain’s product people told CarsGuide this unit was developed specifically for large 4x4 and pick-up truck applications, and the big motor was expressly designed to help with towing and heavy payloads.

One reason Geely was taking its time developing a ute was also because it wanted to study how its rivals were going to impact the market. This is part of Geely’s slowly-but-surely strategy to only release what Gu referred to as “star” models in each segment.

He noted the brand was aware and studying other players entering the Australian market with ambitious new ute products, like Chery’s diesel hybrid ute, saying the brand was watching if this direction was "feasible".

Gu said the current monocoque Geely Radar ute, which is currently sold in New Zealand under Riddara badging, was not the “solution” for the Australian market.

“Because just like with some SUVs, it must have four-wheel drive,” he said. “If you don’t have four-wheel drive, you have not satisfied what the customer demands.”

“So Geely, we fully study the customer demand, and provide exactly or even beyond what the customer is expecting of them otherwise.”

“For the ute, just like Ranger or HiLux or Shark 6, these have a different character, so we must benchmark those ‘star’ models."