Geely Starray News

Chinese cars have entered “uncharted territory”, according to Vice President of Geely Group Li Chuanhai.Chuanhai explained that as Chinese automakers became global entities, they could no longer rely on challenging the status quo of so-called legacy brands, but would have to innovate on their own if they want to move the industry forward.“Franky, the Chinese automotive industry has reached its current position by standing on the shoulders of giants in the century-old automotive industry,” he said.“But now that we’re taking the lead, we have entered uncharted territory. How do we innovate in uncharted territory? I think our logic for innovation needs to change."He said Geely was well positioned to provide multiple power options, such as as petrol, hybrid and EV, across many markets, but there would still be the need to innovate further in the future.“Geely adheres to its energy diversification strategy. Our Thor hybrid, SEA EV, i-HEV, and green methanol developed over 20 years have created a complete ecosystem covering pure electric, hybrid, range extender, methanol, and charging/battery swapping. We’ve successfully explored every path to provide global users with more choices,” he said.Chuanhai outlined some investments Geely was making including collaborations with “more than 50 universities on basic research”. He said this “may not yield immediate returns” for the group, but that innovation required “adequate resource investment, effective ecosystem collaboration, and sufficient talent density”.Chuanhai earmarked the success of its premium Zeekr arm as evidence Geely had moved beyond its challenger status.“We don't have the time to build the brand story that century-old established brands have accumulated over time,” he said.“New energy and intelligent technologies have brought us opportunities for brand advancement. However, we also believe that the foundation for brand advancement lies in safety, chassis and powertrain—areas that best reflect our core professional capabilities."He said the brand is aiming for Volvo’s ultimate safety, Lotus’ ultimate handling and Horse Powertrain’s ultimate performance.He said the 750,000 units Zeekr has delivered in its short existence have an average selling price of more than the equivalent of $62,000, comparatively very high for a Chinese brand, with the national average being a little over half that ($35,000).“The essence of Chinese automotive globalisation is not about low prices and high volume, but about being rooted in technology and driven by brands, ultimately moving from simply selling cars to defining the future of automobiles,” he said.“We hope that Geely's experience can serve as a model for Chinese automakers going global, and we believe that China's automotive industry is fully capable of winning respect and establishing a firm foothold in the world.”Next for Geely in Australia will be its EX2 fully electric hatchback, which will be followed by the Emgrand EM-i plug-in hybrid sedan. Zeekr will launch its flagship 9X plug-in hybrid large SUV before the end of the year, alongside the 7GT fully-electric performance wagon.In 2027, the much-hyped 8X large five-seat hybrid SUV will arrive, with Geely also plotting a yet-to-be confirmed three-row hybrid SUV offering.

With a flood of new and affordable Chinese automakers hitting the Australian market, Geely’s Australian CEO Alex Gu explained why its strategy is a little different from that of Chery, MG or GAC.Geely, which has such brands as Volvo, Zeekr, and Polestar under its ownership umbrella and ranks as one of China’s top-selling carmakers, said it will continue to approach the Australian market slowly.“This is culture-wise,” Gu said.“Geely is fully committed and we keep patient on the market penetration. Once we decide to enter into each individual global market, we are present to be a success.“Success is not only the volume booming. Success is also customer satisfaction and partner satisfaction.“So, you’ve noticed that for the Australian market, we’ve only launched two models up until today for example other have launched 10 models, five models, six or eight models.“Of course, they have been in the market longer, but Geely, even with two models you can notice from the VFACTs number, we try to bring ‘star’ models into each segment so we can make it successful.“EX5, you can already see, in April it will be a top-three BEV SUV. Starray EM-i? Same story. Now we are aiming to bring in EX2. These days we are taking pre-orders, which are very good figures.“So we’ll focus on our current models, but you can believe that after we bring all new models we will study the segment fully and those models as ‘star’ models for the segment.“We don’t want to make chaos. So we’ll bring each model to a segment in a significant position. This is our target," he said.Despite its more measured model roll out, will Geely have a model in every segment like some of its rivals have recently declared?“It’s a hard thing to do,” said Gu. “Even some mainstream brands, they don’t have a model in every segment. So for Geely, again we will study the market, study what customers want.“So it’s mutual success, for Geely and for our partner, and for the market,” he said.The brand was planning to have a seven-seat SUV, an off-roader (as previewed by the Geely Battleship 700 concept) and a ute, according to Gu.Gu said models need to sell more than 1000 units to be considered a success."From my perspective, 1000 a month is a milestone for a new model, especially in mainstream segments.”Gu said it is well known Geely is “aiming to be top five” globally.“For the Australian market of course we have a target, each market needs to support this goal. At least for the Chinese brands in the market, we are always mentioned as the number one Chinese brand," he said.From there Gu said it becomes a game of “how to challenge the global top three brands”.One area Geely was particularly focused on was consistent parts supply.Gu said it was essential for the brand to properly plan for its parts distribution centres (PDC), so that “when there is an order, we need to guarantee how to get it within 24 hours from the PDC to the customer”.He also noted Geely had an expansive dealer network already, up to 48 locations, with a plan to “exceed 80” despite only having the two models on sale currently.Gu said the brand would sell any purely petrol or diesel models. Instead the brand would focus on EVs, plug-in hybrids and conventional plugless hybrids.Geely’s next model will be the EX2 electric hatchback, which is due to arrive in the third quarter of 2026. The Emgrand plug-in hybrid sedan will arrive in 2027. Gu also confirmed a seven-seat SUV (something similar to the Geely M9 shown at the Melbourne Motor Show recently) is also in the plan for the next 12 to 18 months.

Apple-loving Geely drivers rejoice! Your Geely EX5 electric SUV now has Apple CarPlay.

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are on the up in Australia as evidenced by Chinese brands bringing in models like the BYD Sealion 6, Chery Tiggo 7 and Tiggo Super Hybrid, as well as the MG HS Super Hybrid.This means Mitsubishi’s once-unassailable dominance in this area is being challenged.Now, a new brand (to Australia at least) is bringing its “cutting-edge” PHEV system in the form of the 2026 Geely Starray EM-i.Geely has already launched the electric EX5 mid-size SUV in Australia, but now it has a plug-in hybrid sibling which aims to jump in on the rising popularity of the drivetrain tech.The Starray EM-i is set to show up locally in the fourth quarter of 2025 and will be the debut of Geely’s EM-i (standing for E-Motive Intelligence) PHEV tech.Its engine, a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine (73kW/125Nm) is the product of Horse Powertrain, a joint venture between Geely and Renault. Interestingly, the engine was designed from scratch to be a hybrid-assisted engine.Its thermal efficiency of up to 46.5 per cent is ahead of the standard curve for a car engine (typically below 40 per cent). Its claimed 98.02 per cent electric motor efficiency and 98.8 per cent transmission efficiency are also hard to fault.The 160kW/262Nm electric motor joins the engine for a total system output of 193kW. Power in the Starray EM-i is sent to the front wheels only.The electric motor can drive the wheels independently or with the help of the engine. It’ll also come with vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability to use its battery to power appliances.Geely claims an electric driving range of 83km (under WLTP testing, which is more realistic than often-used NEDC testing) and a total combined range of up to 943km.The Chinese carmaker also says the Starray EM-i’s combined fuel consumption lands at 2.4L/100km under WLTP testing.