Automotive site Edmunds tests a $25K Chinese hybrid SUV — and issues a warning to US automakers
The popular car-buying website Edmunds put a Chinese car through a series of tough tests for the first time, and Editor-in-Chief Alistair Weaver came up with a remarkable observation: American automakers have good reason to worry.
Although Chinese cars have been successfully banned in the US, Edmunds wanted to test it because of the growing interest of US consumers in affordable, feature-packed cars.
It got its hands on the Geely Galaxy M9 — an extended-range hybrid SUV that starts at around $25,000 in China — and put the car through its full battery of tests to measure driving range, acceleration, braking and other performance characteristics.
Many of the M9’s features are “ahead of the cars we drive in the US,” Weaver said after driving the car around the Edmunds test track in Los Angeles. “Technology is great.”
A recent survey from Cox Automotive showed that American consumers are increasingly open to Chinese-made cars, which are being kept off the market by regulations, opposition from lawyers and tariffs of up to 100%.
Some buyers are even plotting ways to get Chinese models across the border from Mexico, where they are common, or Canada, where their presence may increase after Canada eases trade barriers.
Geely said that it gave Edmunds this car to show its technical capabilities to the world rather than to show that they want to enter the American market. “Geely is always exploring global markets, but our commercial focus for the Galaxy M9 remains in China,” the spokesperson said.
Matching price competitors
Edmunds got access to the car after contacting Geely executives at the CES trade show earlier this year, Weaver said. Although new Chinese cars cannot be imported and sold, Edmunds can legally borrow a car from Geely and drive it on US roads.
Its employees drove the model for about three weeks in everyday situations, such as going to the grocery store, in addition to evaluating 227 points on its performance and performance.
It found that the three-row Galaxy M9 SUV rivals its two-row rivals, such as the Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride or Toyota Grand Highlander. Although the model will undoubtedly have a higher price when it becomes available in the US, Edmunds said it will still compete at double its starting price of $25,000 in China.
The Galaxy M9 offers a 30-inch infotainment screen, which Edmunds found as responsive as the one in the Tesla. On top of the basic technology, the M9 offers the usual delights of Chinese cars: a built-in fridge, external speakers and a flip-down entertainment screen for the second row.
The plug-in hybrid’s estimated driving range of 808 kilometers exceeds the estimates from similar products scheduled to arrive soon from US companies.
Extended-range hybrids like the M9 have large batteries that power the vehicle as an EV and small gasoline engines that act primarily as generators to charge the battery. The M9 can travel about 100 kilometers on electric power alone before needing a generator, according to Edmunds’ tests.
Chinese automakers have offered long-range hybrids for years. Major automakers including Ford and Stellantis plan to introduce them in the US as an alternative to low-selling EVs.
China’s highly competitive auto market has pressured automakers to release more compact models at lower prices, said Tu Le, founder of Sino Auto Insights. If those options are kept out of the U.S. market, especially as prices rise, consumers will be frustrated, he said.
“We’re seeing some of the newest products at lower prices, and consumers around the world are benefiting,” Le said. “Making them not go out 100%, full stop, that’s what will upset people.”
