- Zeekr, Farizon EV brands confirmed for launch in New Zealand.
- New Giltrap Group company, NordEast, to handle six Geely brands.
- Estalished makes Volvo, Polestar and Lotus grouped with new-gen Chinese cars.
Giltrap Group, New Zealand’s largest independent new-vehicle importer, has united a sextet of Geely Group brands under one distribution company for the first time, anywhere in the world. The new company is called NordEast.
Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and Geely, plus newcomers Zeekr (premium/performance EVs) and Farizon (electric commercials), are all part of Geely, China’s third-largest automotive group.
While NordEast won’t mean much to consumers (and isn't supposed to), it does mean a radical revamp of the brands’ retail presence, as the new company seeks to launch its two newest badges, Zeekr and Farizon, future-proof all six brands and… sell some cars. NordEast aims to achieve annual sales of 5000 across the group by 2028.
It’s all happened quite quickly. Although the launch of Geely in April (with the EX5 SUV) was the catalyst, much of the move was centred around Volvo.
“Volvo is the cornerstone,” says Michael Giltrap, executive director of Giltrap Group Holdings. “That’s the brand that allows us to put them all together. That’s the brand that introduced us to Geely.”
Previously, Giltrap co-owned Volvo distributor Scandinavian Motors with another company. The buyout of that was successfully completed earlier this year.
“When we soft-launched Geely in April, it was clear that we had to do something a bit different,” says NordEast group general manager Dane Fisher. “Buying out the Fairhall Trust [Giltrap’s Volvo partner] put the actions in place. We knew Zeekr was looking very likely, and therefore that was the moment.”
There's been a big rush at the end. Both Giltrap and Fisher admitted during a media event for the new company on August 21 that the deal with Zeekr was only signed three days earlier.
“Zeekr was out, publicly listed, so it was approaching each distributor on their own merits,” explains Fisher. “It wasn’t a done deal. Having Geely helped, certainly, but we had to deliver on our own merits. But now we have all the core Geely Group brands.”
Fisher says grouping the brands at a retail level is designed to minimise consumer confusion and achieve consistency. NordEast will have 14 locations in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch, with 29 showrooms nationwide. That will include five Zeekr showrooms.
“We’ve spent a lot of time thing about how we can be different. The automotive industry peaked at 150,000 units and we think it’ll get back there within the next three years.
“But now you’ve got more brands than ever, so it’s all getting smaller and smaller. The days of mono-brand stores are gone, unless you’re a significant volume contributor... so maybe Toyota can get away with it. Maybe some premium brands, too. But there’s major consolidation.
"Showrooms are putting brands together, and that’s confusing for the consumer. Because where do you go? What we’re doing differently is pairing brands: our three ‘legacy’ brands Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, and then the new brands [Geely, Zeekr and Farizon].
“So we’ll know our neighbours in the showroom… because our neighbours are ourselves.
"When you go to our showrooms you will see Geely, Zeekr and Farizon together. I don’t expect everybody to understand what each brand stands for straight away, but each will have its own personality. And they will be consistent [across the country].”
September 15 is the magic date for NordEast’s new retail operations, with eight Volvo/Polestar/Lotus showrooms being joined by six new outlets for the new-gen Chinese brands.
Volvo, Polestar & Lotus
NordEast characterizes Volvo as a “trusted premium brand” focused on SUVs. It currently sells the XC40 (mild hybrid), XC60 (mild and plug-in hybrid) and XC90 (mild and plug-in), plus a range of pure-electrics: EX30, EX40 and EX90.
Polestar specialises in “performance EVs”, the range comprising (in order of size) the 2, 4 and 3.
Lotus is “iconic British performance, reimagined with electric innovation”. It has sports cars such as the Emira and Evija, but also a large performance sedan and SUV: Emeya and Eletre, both full-electric.
Geely
Geely was launched in NZ in April with the mainstream EX5 SUV. As NordEast establishes its network, this will be the volume brand expected to do a lot of the work toward that 5000 goal, selling “many thousands” says Fisher.
NordEast is now launching its next Geely SUV, the Starray EM-i. Significantly larger than the EX5, it’s a plug-in “super hybrid” with a petrol engine and 18.4kWh battery giving 83km EV range (WLTP).
Starray is open for pre-order, although the first customer cars won’t arrive until the end of October. Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but NordEast promises it’ll be below $50k.
But the headline news for Geely is the Riddara RD6 Pro, a fully electric ute. Unlike traditional one-tonne utes such as Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux, it’s not built on a ladder-frame chassis – instead, it uses a Geely EV passenger-car platform with multi-link independent rear suspension, making it more of a cross between an SUV and pickup truck.
However, Geely claims it still delivers on some key ute-stats: it maintains a payload of 1030kg, can tow three tonnes and will wade through 815mm of water.
With 315kW/595Nm, it can do 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds. The 73kWh battery gives range up to 360km (WLTP). Pricing starts at $69,990.
Zeekr
Zeekr is a brand that a lot of people are excited about. It’s Geely’s premium EV division, created with export markets in mind; it only started selling vehicles globally in 2021.
The Zeekr range starts with the X, built on a shared platform with the Volvo EX30 and similar in size. It’ll be available in RWD for $59,900, or AWD for $69,900.
There’s a luxury people mover called the 009, in six or seven-seat versions for $149,900-$154,900, offering up to 450kW and maximum 582km range from its 116kWh battery.
But the hero of the Zeekr range is the 7X, a high-performance medium-SUV available in RWD and AWD, with up to 475kW and 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds. Battery sizes are 75kWh and 100kW, with range up to 615km.
Pricing won’t be confirmed until next month. But it’ll be above the X AWD (obviously), and NordEast says there’s promising “white space” in the premium EV market between $60-100k. So it’ll be up there.
Farizon
If you’ve never heard of this one, don’t worry. Most haven’t. But Farizon is Geely’s EV-commercial brand and is being launched in NZ with this van: 170kW front-drive, with a choice of batteries from 67-83kW.
NordEast says all models have a range in excess of 300km, with the top version reaching 376km (WLTP). All models have a payload of at least one tonne, or up to 1390kg depending on specification. There are 5, 5.5 and 6-metre options. Pricing starts at $74,990.