Land Rover Defender-rivalling Geely Galaxy Cruiser ‘the first’ of more off-road focused models

Geely’s Galaxy Cruiser off-roader looks set to start ‘opening doors’ for more off-roaders from the Chinese brand, its chief designer has said.

First revealed at the Shanghai Motor Show last year in concept form, the Galaxy Cruiser uses a plug-in hybrid setup and is the first dedicated off-roader to be produced by Geely.

The Chinese manufacturing giant is currently kickstarting its presence in the UK, having already handled brands such as Volvo, Lotus and Polestar.

The new Galaxy Cruiser, however, would mark a turning point for the brand as it expands beyond its current range of SUVs and crossovers towards models more focused on off-road abilities.

Chief designer Flavian Bachet told the PA news agency that the upcoming car draws on inspiration from ‘iconic models’ since there are ‘not so many off-roaders in Chinese history – not so many icons.

“If you compare the interior of the Defender – it’s quite simple – with this one, it’s quite premium. It’s a very different approach.

“It was a real challenge to get the car to look like it could actually do the job. But when they tested it in some deserts in China, it was way beyond what we were expecting.”

The Galaxy Cruiser, which Bachet says is currently ’90-95 per cent representative’ of what a production model could look like, would arrive in the UK to rival the likes of the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes G-Class, as well as more rugged offerings such as Toyota’s Land Cruiser.

Bachet added that the launch of the Galaxy Cruiser was a ‘new branch in the family but it is opening doors for more off-roaders’, suggesting that more Geely four-wheel-drives could be set to hit the market in the coming years. It could be ‘the first of – hopefully – many more to come’ he added.

As for whether or not this model will make it to UK shores, Geely’s UK marketing director Tianxiao Yan said that the Galaxy Cruiser would ‘definitely launch in the UK – no problem.’