Looks like Geely is coming to Australia: Here's what we know about the Chinese giant, and which models we'd like to see hit our shores

You’ve probably heard of Geely before. It’s one of China’s largest automakers, and in what appears to be the industry’s worst-kept-secret, its arrival in Australia has been (somewhat) confirmed by a job listing in Sydney.

Geely is hiring a Marketing Director in Sydney via LinkedIn, following confirmation on the same platform in April that it would soon be producing its Radar RD6 electric ute in right-hand drive.

The giant, which is famous for its acquisition and current ownership of Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, as well as holding joint-ventures in Proton and Smart, has been rumoured for an Australian launch for some time, since it earmarked the Asia-Pacific region for expansion in an investor briefing in 2021.

Recent supporting evidence not only includes the confirmation of a right-hand drive RD6, but confirmation its Zeekr performance electric sub-brand would land in Australia before the end of 2024. Thus far, the brand’s international division has been quite media-shy about its plans in Australia, but with local hires now underway, expect that to change.

So what cars does Geely make, and what should you expect to see in Australia? Let’s have a look.

Geely Auto range

Under its primary Geely Auto marque, the brand sells the Panda city car, Emgrand and Binrui sedans and Xingrue (Preface) mid-size semi-premium sedan.

In terms of SUVs, it sells the Boyue and Binyue small SUVs as well as the Xingyue mid-to-large-size SUV.

Some of these options are already available in select export markets wearing different names, and thanks to its use of Volvo’s 'Compact Modular Architecture' (CMA) on most of its range, some are already available in right-hand drive for South-East Asian markets.

The specs and quality of the current, particularly higher-end Geely products, make them a shoo-in for the Australian market, particularly the Xingrue sedan and Xingyue SUV.

Both are available with combustion and hybrid drivetrains, consisting of 2.0-litre turbo, 1.5-litre turbo, a 1.5-litre plugless hybrid or even (in the case of the Xingyue) a 1.0-litre three-cylinder plug-in hybrid.

Geely Geometry

Geometry is Geely’s dedicated mainstream EV sub-brand, which produces fully electric spin-offs of its main range, including the Geometry A and G6 sedans, C hatchback, as well as the E, M6 and EX3 small SUVs. We’d say of all the Geely sub-brands, this one is the least likely for an Australian launch.

Geely Galaxy

A more premium take on the Geometry formula, Geely’s Galaxy sub-brand offers only larger luxury models as fully electrics, including the L6 and E8 sedans, and L7 large SUV.

Jiyue Automobile

Jiyue is a relatively new venture for Geely, focusing on higher-performance and high-automation EV models. It only offers the 01 SUV and soon, the 07 sedan. CarsGuide spoke to a Jiyue representative at the Beijing motor show, who said that while right-hand drive was possible thanks to its SEA platform which it shares with the Polestar 4, it was primarily focused on establishing a foothold in the Chinese market.

Other brands and models

As already mentioned, it appears we’ll be getting the fully electric Radar ute (which doesn’t use a shared Volvo/Polestar global architecture, but a bespoke, Geely-developed one), as well as the Zeekr performance brand. What remains to be seen is whether Geely will also launch its edgy Lynk & Co range, which consists of sporty combustion and hybrid models on shared Volvo architectures in Australia.

Even less likely is Farizon Auto, Geely’s commercial vehicle division which also includes the bizarre FX SUV/ute crossover model.

Other parts of the enormous group include Smart, the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) and Proton, all with right-hand drive models available but tailored to Europe, the UK and South East Asia, respectively.

One thing is for sure, Geely has a task in front of it. Not only will it have to find room amongst Australia's most popular automakers, it will also have to fend off rivalry from fellow Chinese players, which now includes MG, GWM, LDV, JAC and Chery.