Geely goes trail-ready

Geely Auto used Auto China 2026 in Beijing to show where its next products are headed, with a new Galaxy Light concept car, a dedicated new-energy off-road architecture, and its i-HEV intelligent hybrid system leading the display.

The company also showed several models from its current and coming lineup, including the Galaxy M9, Galaxy V900, Xingyao 8, Xingyue L i-HEV, Galaxy M7 and StarWish EX5.

The Galaxy Light 2nd Generation Concept made its global debut at the show. Geely said the concept carries its “Ripple Aesthetics” design language into a more premium direction.

The car has a low and wide stance, a Galaxy Starfall grille, Flying Eaves headlights, Crystal Blade beam lighting, and Dawning Sun taillights.

The interior draws ideas from Hangzhou’s West Lake, with wood, crystal details, intelligent lighting, multi-zone climate control, and what the company calls Oxygen Cabin technology. Other cabin details include Chinese Chair seats, a Rippling Collection center console, and Jiwen patterns.

The bigger technical story came from Geely’s new dedicated off-road new-energy vehicle architecture. Geely described it as a native NEV platform built for off-road use rather than a regular road vehicle platform adapted later for rougher terrain.

The architecture uses AI-assisted torque distribution, all-terrain drive modes, one-touch vehicle recovery, and active body posture adjustment.

It also has a recessed battery and a six-layer protective structure under the battery pack, which Geely said helps protect the vehicle during off-road use.

The platform can support larger battery packs and fuel tanks. It also uses a 50:50 front-to-rear axle load balance. Geely said models on the architecture can use a high-power front motor and two independent rear motors.

The combined output can exceed 1,000 horsepower, with 0 to 100 kilometers per hour performance in the four-second range.

Geely also highlighted its i-HEV intelligent hybrid system. The system runs on the company’s GEEA 3.0 electronic and electrical architecture and uses its Full-Domain AI 2.0 ecosystem.

Geely said the engine reaches 48.41 percent thermal efficiency, while the Emgrand i-HEV recorded fuel use of 2.22 liters per 100 kilometers in real-world testing.

The i-HEV system can deliver motor output of up to 230 kilowatts and can run in pure electric mode at speeds of up to 66 kilometers per hour.

According to Geely, the system was tested for 15,000 hours on bench durability tests, which the company equates to around 4.8 million kilometers of vehicle use.

Geely also reported strong sales as it continues its “One Geely” strategy. The company said first-quarter 2026 sales reached 709,358 units. It also said the Galaxy series passed 2 million cumulative sales in 37 months.

More products are due this year. The Galaxy M7 long-range hybrid was scheduled for launch on 28 April, with up to 225 kilometers of pure electric range and 1,730 kilometers of total range. Geely also said it plans to launch four to five new intelligent hybrid models in 2026.