New Geely Galaxy sub-brand promises 7 cars in 2 years

Chinese auto giant Zhejiang Geely on Thursday introduced Geely Galaxy as a sub-brand of its mass-market Geely brand, aimed at buyers seeking upmarket cars equipped with either hybrid or fully electric powertrains.

At a launch event held in Hangzhou, China, Geely showed two Geely Galaxy-branded vehicles, one a sleek sedan concept and the other a plug-in hybrid SUV that will start sales in China in the second quarter of 2023. There's been no mention of sales in other markets.

Geely said Galaxy will have a lineup spanning seven distinct models within two years, four of them plug-in hybrids and the rest electric cars. The first will be the L7 plug-in hybrid SUV shown on Thursday. It will be followed in the third quarter by an L6 plug-in hybrid sedan. The first Galaxy EV will go by the name E8 and start sales in China in the fourth quarter.

Geely didn't say what body style the E8 will have, though the Galaxy Light electric sedan concept shown during Thursday's launch event may signal the design of Galaxy's production EVs.

Geely said some of Galaxy's plug-in hybrids will use a version of the CMA platform underpinning vehicles from fellow Geely brands Volvo and Lynk & Co., such as the Volvo XC40 and Lynk & Co. 01 crossovers. Galaxy will also have a dedicated platform for some of its plug-in hybrids.

The internal-combustion engine destined for Galaxy's plug-in hybrids, code-named NordThor 8848, is claimed to have a thermal efficiency of 44.26% and a predictive energy management system claimed to be capable of boosting gas mileage by up to 15%. During real-world testing of the L7, Geely said the vehicle returned an average of 45 mpg.

Geely didn't say what platform(s) Galaxy's EVs will use, though the automaker said the EVs will be the first to use its new Aegis battery safety system. The system is designed to not only protect a battery from impacts during crash situations, but also predict and prevent overheating and other similar situations, which Geely said can help increase the lifespan of the battery by 20%.

Geely also said Galaxy vehicles will run a dedicated operating system known as Galaxy N-OS. Not only is the operating system much quicker than rival systems, requiring just half a second to be ready for use upon starting the vehicle, it also has access to Zhejiang Geely's satellite and cloud networks, meaning its driver-assist features will benefit from centimeter-accurate positioning and high-precision maps.