On January 5th, Geely Motors officially launched the third model in the Galaxy series – the Galaxy E8, with a suggested retail price ranging from 175,800 to 228,800 yuan, less than $25000, targeting the mainstream automotive market.
As the penetration rate of new energy vehicles continues to rise, especially in the high-end market above 300,000 yuan and the small car market below 100,000 yuan, the Galaxy E8 aims to compete with fuel vehicles in the 200,000 yuan price range by positioning itself as a "mainstream pure electric disruptor."
Before the Galaxy E8, Geely introduced two models in the Galaxy series in 2023 – the Galaxy L7 and Galaxy L6. Within seven months, the Galaxy series achieved remarkable sales of over 83,000 units. Unlike the plug-in hybrid models of the previous two vehicles, the Galaxy E8 is a B-class pure electric sedan, and its market acceptance will depend on the overall market acceptance of pure electric models.
Most B-class pure electric sedans in the current market are priced above 200,000 yuan, such as Avita 12, Jikexie 007, and Starton Star Era ES. The Galaxy E8 targets the mainstream market with a price range of 170,000 to 230,000 yuan, giving it few direct competitors. Currently, the closest competitor is the BYD Han EV.
Original Design and Performance Highlights
Regarding the product definition of the Galaxy E8, Geely Auto Group CEO Gan Jiayue stated in an interview with various media outlets, including Economic Observer Net: "Whether before or after the arrival of new energy, B-class sedans have always been dominated by joint venture and foreign brands, accounting for over 90% of sales. With the development of new energy, we believe new energy products will have a significant presence in the mainstream B-class car market."
Gan Jiayue pointed out that the trend of transitioning from fuel vehicles to new energy is clear. The Galaxy's product positioning is high-value, considering product definition, development, sales, and even after-sales service from the customer's perspective.
In terms of design, the Galaxy E8 emphasizes original design with a focus on highlighting Chinese cultural elements. The exterior adopts the "Ripple Aesthetics" design, featuring the world's first mass-produced integrated luminous front face, tiger-inspired front face, tiger-style body, sunrise tail lights, and six body colors inspired by the "Top Ten Scenes of West Lake." The interior follows Eastern aesthetic design, integrating a suspended sound system, fragrance, and ambient lighting on the dashboard, resembling the "Top Ten Scenes of West Lake."
"The development of new energy has now entered the second stage. In the first stage, the focus was solely on electrification, specifically, the powertrain. Now we have entered the era of electrification + intelligence. However, many mainstream products are still oil-to-electric transition products, while the Galaxy comes with the best architecture from the start – the SEA architecture, allowing users to directly enjoy the value of Geely's global technological system," Gan Jiayue stated.
Benefits of the SEA architecture are first reflected in performance. The Galaxy E8 achieves a front/rear axle load ratio of 50:50, combined with digital virtual tuning technology, lateral sway linearity reaches 92.61% (industry average 81%), and the Moose Test score is 82 km/h, ranking among the top three globally. As a 5-meter sedan, it achieves a minimum turning radius of 5.62 meters.
Based on the SEA architecture, the Galaxy E8 offers two models with 400V and 800V. The Galaxy E8 Four-Wheel Drive Performance version is the first mainstream market 800V four-wheel-drive pure electric sedan, utilizing high-performance silicon carbide electric drive, dual-motor power of 475 kW, and a zero to one hundred acceleration of only 3.49 seconds. This model also features 800V ultra-fast flash charging, providing a range of 180 km with a 5-minute charge.
In terms of safety, the Galaxy E8 adopts the "Shield Battery Safety System," a four-layer "no blind spot" safety protection system from battery to structure, whole vehicle, intelligent control, and cloud. In terms of safety verification, Geely conducted temperature shock, humidity cycle, vibration, mechanical shock, immersion safety, IP6X, IPX8, and IPX9K tests, all passing in one continuous test. The Galaxy E8 passed more than 1,000 high-standard tests in the first domestic vehicle electric safety protection certification system, obtaining the "001 Vehicle Six-Dimensional Electric Safety Certification" for Chinese new energy vehicles.
Additionally, Geely announced the opening of the "Geely Global Safety Experiment Center" to the entire industry of complete vehicles and components, sharing safety technology achievements and reshaping new energy vehicle safety standards.
Intelligence is also a key product capability of the Galaxy series. The "Galaxy Unbounded Smart Cockpit" of the Galaxy E8 features the world's first 45-inch 8K unbounded smart screen jointly developed with BOE, the largest and clearest screen in the industry. Beneath the high-definition screen is the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip, supporting computing power. The in-car system is equipped with the Galaxy NOS Unbounded version.
The Galaxy Unbounded Smart Cockpit's two main features are a comprehensive immersive interaction experience and AI capabilities. It also has the ability to connect with smartphones, drones, and satellites. The Galaxy E8 is the world's first model to support Flyme Link and introduced the Meizu 21 Geely Galaxy Custom Edition. In terms of interconnected devices, Geely collaborates with outstanding brands and products in various fields. For in-car connectivity, Geely integrates all Android phones; for smart home connectivity, it integrates devices from JD, Xiaodu, Haier, and others.
Regarding the competition for the Galaxy E8, Geely Auto Group Senior Vice President Lin Jie stated: "Everything we do is not aimed at others; we only have users in mind. We must follow the rules of car manufacturing, fight a lasting battle, and making cars is a marathon. The fastest may not necessarily live the longest. It's not that Jikexie is targeting Tesla, Geely is targeting BYD; we are targeting the largest (sub-markets). Geely is an open enterprise, and our goal is a larger market."
Galaxy Technology Ecology Takes Shape
Currently, the core of the competition in new energy vehicles has expanded from the three-electric system to the field of intelligence. Geely's creation of the Galaxy series is an important step in its transformation towards new energy, not only in terms of increasing new energy products but also in driving the establishment of a technological ecosystem. For this reason, Geely proposes the concept of the new energy "Galaxy Era."
"The 'Galaxy Era' is a question of the development values of new energy products. How to make products outstanding in the market requires thinking from the customer's perspective. There is still much to learn from Volkswagen, Toyota, and others in car manufacturing. Cars are essentially a means of transportation that will definitely evolve into intelligent mobile terminals in the future. In terms of experience, users should have more consumer-grade experience and value," Gan Jiayue stated. He believes that safety and quality are always the foundation of cars, and the
"Galaxy Era" of new energy refers to the basic rules and elements of car manufacturing, which Geely cannot neglect.
In addition to unveiling the Galaxy E8, Geely Motors announced the reserve in the Galaxy series in intelligent driving, artificial intelligence, energy supplementation ecology, and forward-looking technology to showcase its technological ecosystem.
In terms of intelligent driving, Geely Galaxy introduces a more powerful "solid-state laser radar" and will also bring the Galaxy Smart Drive 2.0 focusing on city commuting NOA. This intelligent driving solution will be first deployed on the Galaxy E8 Smart Drive version and gradually launch various functions throughout the year.
In terms of artificial intelligence, based on the powerful computing power of 102 billion trillion calculations per second iterated from the Xingrui Smart Calculation Center, Geely has laid out the industry's first full-stack self-developed "AI big model." Geely Galaxy's "AI Digital Elf" will be launched soon.
Regarding energy supplementation ecology, Geely Galaxy will share the Geely Group's "Thousand Stations and Ten Thousand Piles" energy supplementation system, connecting to more than 880 charging stations from Jikexie Energy, covering 137 cities nationwide, including 2,409 ultra-fast charging piles. Geely also plans an exclusive "Energy Supplementation Park" for Galaxy users, with 300 stations to be implemented by 2024. Additionally, it integrates over 95% of charging resources nationwide, covering 330 major cities, with a total of 600,000 available charging piles.
Geely Galaxy will continue to bring innovative technology and products to users, including the self-developed new generation 11-in-1 intelligent electric drive, distributed wheel-side electric drive, enabling mainstream products to achieve "tank turns." New energy technologies such as the new generation CTB technology and self-developed new formula batteries will also be equipped in Geely Galaxy's new products. In addition to the Galaxy L7, Galaxy L6, and Galaxy E8, Geely Galaxy plans to launch more new products in the next two years.
For the Geely Galaxy series, the Galaxy E8, positioned as a B-class pure electric sedan, bears the task of continuing to increase sales volume. For the entire new energy market, the Galaxy E8's entry into the mainstream market becomes a key player challenging the "last fortress" of fuel vehicles.
Regarding the development direction of plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles in the automotive market in 2024, Gan Jiayue believes it is a matter of user demand. Some people prefer pure electric models, while others prefer plug-in hybrid models. In the new energy arena, the two will coexist for a long time. From current data, both maintain a 1:1 ratio, consistent with Geely's previous judgment. As for the faster growth rate of plug-in hybrids compared to pure electric vehicles, Gan Jiayue attributes it to the rapid growth of pure electric vehicles in the first few years, which resulted in a large base, but the overall quantity of pure electric vehicles is still growing.
According to Geely Motors' released data, the total sales in 2023 reached 1.686 million vehicles, hitting a historical high with nearly 18% year-on-year growth. The new energy penetration rate exceeded 40% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Geely believes that the launch of the Galaxy E8 will further accelerate its overall sales growth.
