Geely will launch commercial vehicles in the UK in 2025, reveals John Kendall.

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Chinese automotive giant Geely, which already owns Volvo Cars, Polestar and Lotus, is set to launch into the UK commercial vehicle sector via its dedicated commercial vehicle brand, Farizon. The company will debut the Farizon SV (Super Van), in the 3,500kg gross vehicle weight (GVW) van sector, with products arriving in the UK in the second quarter of 2025.

The OEM has appointed Saudi-based Jameel Motors as its importer. Jameel Motors has imported Toyota vehicles to Saudi Arabia for around 70 years and has extensive expertise in operating both as an importer and dealer. Meanwhile, the UK operation will be headed up by Andy Carroll, who has been appointed country manager of Jameel Motors Farizon Auto. Carroll has previously worked for General Motors, franchised dealers and at Glass’s Guide.

“The Farizon SV is a mid to large panel van, straddling L1H1 up to L3H3 and 3,500kg GVW,” Carroll explains. “It’s basically covering both the medium and large panel van sectors, so it’s very much at the sweet spot of the UK market. The key factor about the SV is that it is pure electric – and built and manufactured from the ground up as that. Therefore, there are no compromises, but a lot of benefits in terms of weight and rigidity.

“This panel van was designed for Europe,” continues Carroll. Farizon hired a French designer and recruited a European design team with a lot of background in Renault Trucks and Volvo Trucks.”

Tech-fest

The Farizon SV will launch with cutting-edge technology. Taking advantage of legislation already in place in the UK, it will be the first van on the UK market to feature drive-by-wire systems, similar to those used on modern passenger aircraft where there is no direct link between the controls in the cockpit and the engines and control surfaces, which are all sensed and controlled by computers.

The vans will be equipped with steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems as standard from launch. Without a mechanical link between the steering wheels and the front wheels, it will be possible to provide variable ratio steering. This means that at low speed, small steering wheel movements can result in comparatively large steered wheel movements to greatly improve manoeuvrability, a real advantage when manoeuvring in tight spaces. At higher speeds, the ratio is similar to that of any other van.

“It will have full dual redundancy on both systems, so benefits for packaging and benefits for steering response,” says Carroll. “I think the biggest in terms of customer response will be the braking response, from a safety perspective. Here, it’s more than 10% faster.”

Jameel Motors’ operations in Turkey give a clue to how the company will operate in the UK. The company is the official Toyota importer, but also owns three dealerships in Istanbul and Ankara.

“Jameel Motors is setting up a business here as we speak. We will have a flagship dealer, again, as we speak, under negotiation,” says Carroll, who confirms the site will be “in the London area”.

Jameel Motors is looking to open between five and 10 dealers nationwide initially.

“If the dealers are motivated, they will have good people dedicated to selling it but also making sure that the service behind it works,” says Carroll. “That’s our starting point.

“Therefore, it’s got to be a substantial opportunity for the dealers and the way to deliver that is to have larger territories. So we’re not looking at huge numbers. We want people who’ve got light commercial vehicles in their blood and have got the connections, got the relationships, but we want to give them sufficient opportunity that they will say, ‘Yes, it’s worth my while investing in the training and the people.’”

Target market

Carroll’s biggest target customer group will be larger fleets, particularly those involved in last-mile deliveries, he confirms.

“This will be absolutely ideal for those types of business and those who have already taken the plunge towards electric. They have already got their heads around the charging issues, whether that’s depot or home charging. We will be very strong in London but also the major conurbations for those short trips.”

The SV will be offered with three battery sizes, with up to 225 miles of WLTP combined range. Body volume will span 6.9 to 13.0m3 and payload will range from 1,100kg to 1,300kg, depending on model. The SV will have a towing capacity of 2,000kg.

The SV is likely to be followed by other LCV models in the future. Farizon is the CV market leader in China, producing heavy trucks as well as vans, and launches into the heavy truck sector seem likely too.

Farizon claims that its cell-to-pack battery technology increases battery capacity by 10%, reduces weight by 4% and improves body rigidity by 20%. In addition to reducing stopping distance by 10%, Farizon says that the drive by wire technology can increase range by 5% and steering response by 300%, while helping to increase load capacity and providing an extra-low loading height.