China’s ‘Galaxy Cruiser’ Toyota LandCruiser rival could be built at Ford factory
The Geely Galaxy Cruiser 700 is being linked to a production slot at Ford’s Spanish car plant, as a part of a joint venture with the Chinese brand.
Chinese car giant Geely is making its first steps towards challenging established brands in the off-road vehicle market, with reports claiming it’ll produce one of its newest models in Spain at a Ford factory.
As reported by Automotive News, insiders claim Geely’s Galaxy Cruiser 700 body-on-frame SUV is likely to be produced for the European market on a production line at Ford’s Valencia plant in Spain.
Set to be sold in the region with a different badge, it would be one of a handful of Geely models to be built in the Ford factory, after the two brands announced a joint venture agreement in July.
The joint venture sees Ford holding the controlling 66 per cent stake, while Geely will circumvent tariffs on Chinese-built cars in Europe by becoming a 34 per cent partner.
Previously the joint venture was confirmed to build a “multi-energy crossover” which is being co-developed with Geely, but designed by Ford, while Geely said it would produce two more SUVs at the factory, one of which will be the existing EX5 EV, while its additional model was under development.
At the time, it said the additional SUV would begin rolling down the production line in 2028, giving added weight to the claims it’ll be the Galaxy Cruiser 700.
Orders for the Galaxy Cruiser 700 only opened in China this week, with Geely claiming it received more than 10,000 orders in nine minutes, before recording 43,900 orders in an hour.
In China, the Galaxy Cruiser 700 is offered with a choice of three powertrains. The base model has a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine and a single electric motor, mid-spec models add two electric motors on the rear axle, while the flagship gets a larger 2.0-litre engine, for combined outputs of 830kW.
Measuring 4893mm long, 2028mm wide and 1925mm tall, it’s 87mm shorter, 28mm wider, and sits 25mm lower than a LandCruiser GX 300 Series, while its 2900mm wheelbase is 50mm longer.
Geely claims a ground clearance of 300mm and a wading depth of 800mm, while it also features an ‘amphibious mode’.
While it’s almost certain to go on sale in Europe, Geely’s Australian operations haven’t confirmed the Galaxy Cruiser 700 for local showrooms, as its expansion continues.
