Cheaper than a Tesla: Why you should be excited about this 'new' EV brand

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Chinese electric car brand Geely has arrived in Australia, aiming to take on Tesla as top dog in the growing EV market – so we’ve taken a sneak peek at its first model to go on sale locally – the Geely EX5.

If you don’t recognise the Geely name itself, you might know it from its subsidiaries under Zhejiang Geely Holding, namely Lotus, Zeekr, Polestar, Volvo, Smart, and Proton.

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However, the Chinese manufacturing giant produced cars under its own name for a few years before entering the Australian market.

Despite owning multiple brands established in Australia, the new EX5 EV SUV has been launched under the Geely name, and while the brand may take some time to earn Australia’s trust, we think the risk could pay off after seeing the new model.

The newly established Australian branch of the brand invited Drive to poke and prod the new model at McCarroll’s Automotive Group in Sydney, NSW.

While there will be more to come, here are a few things that excited us the most about the new model.

Doing more with your charge

The ability of electric vehicles to share energy between themselves and an external source has been a hot topic in recent years as EVs have gained more popularity, and with the EX5 Geely offers several solutions.

The first is vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) charging, which means that you can help another EV owner in need in case of running out of charge. The only other car that allows this and has gone on sale in Australia (though not on a mass scale) is the Ford F-150 Lightning.

The V2V charging is rated at 6kW, which is slower than AC charging at 11kW, but it should give you enough charge in a short period to get to a fast charger.

Then there is also vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability, which is possible on many other vehicles, but adapters and extra cables are needed to charge the vehicle very slowly, as seen in a previous story here.

There is also a cool feature on the EX5 that allows you to set how much charge and driving range you want left when using it to power a camp or work site.

Geely EX5 pricing

While official pricing has not been announced, a Geely Australia spokesperson estimated it will start from around $49,000 to $55,000.

With pricing like this, it will beat the popular Tesla Model Y (which starts at $63,400 plus on-road costs) and become the second-most affordable electric mid-size SUV – the Leapmotor C10 is the current leader at $45,888 plus on-road costs.

New gadgets

The EX5 is loaded with little gadgets. Particular focus has been put on the internal screen, which essentially controls the whole car. Geely has developed its own chip for the screen.

It can be likened to an iPad in the sense that it has endless functions but seems to be quick and easy to use.

Geely has produced its own voice controls too, which have been cleared by the Australian branch to ensure that everything to do with the screen and voice control has been translated correctly.

The front seats are ventilated and massaged for both the passenger and the driver. You’ve also got a 16-speaker sound system with customisable modes.

It seems that quite a bit of focus has been placed on loading the car with features and luxury equipment, but how does the rest of the equipment stand up?

Range and performance

The Geely EX5 has a front-wheel-drive layout, outputting 160kW/320Nm to the ground.

The brand claims that the mid-sized SUV’s driving range is around 430km for the base-grade Complete and 410km for the top-spec Inspire and can be charged at 100kW/h (DC fast charge).

Pit this against the 2024 Tesla Model Y, which has 220kW/340Nm, a claimed driving range of 455km and 170kW/h DC fast charge.

While the driving range is quite similar, the Tesla can charge nearly twice as fast and packs more performance than the EX5, which is worth keeping in mind if these are important factors for you when purchasing an EV.

Personal first-look impressions of the Geely EX5

The Geely EX5 could disrupt the mid-sized SUV EV market, which is currently one of Australia’s most popular segments for ICE vehicles.

As Tesla has been one of the biggest players in the EV market from the get-go, its cars will always be used as a benchmark when comparing new EVs. Having spent extended time with the first-generation Model Y, the Geely is certainly a comparable car.

The fit and finish are surprisingly good for a circa-$50K EV, and you have a plethora of gadgets to keep you entertained.

Although the car’s overall appearance makes it seem quite small, the interior space is impressive. The second row is roomy, and the boot space is deep and spacious because the motor is contained at the front.

It is a valid concern that loading the car up with luxury features could be a bid to make the car seem like extraordinary value for money. But it also comes back to the fact that Geely is a new name for the Australian market, and to appeal to buyers amid an ever-growing pool of EV brands, it has got to offer extraordinary value for money.

It will be interesting to see what happens when we take the new Geely EX5 for a spin, which the Australian launch is rapidly approaching, to find out if it’s all tech gimmicks or if it’s really sizing up to be a major player.

Pre-orders are now open for the new model through the Australian website.

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