2027 Geely Battleship 700 confirmed for Australia
It has a signature dance move – the aptly named ‘waltz’ – and it is now gunning for hero status in Australia.
Chinese manufacturer Geely has confirmed its Battleship 700 off-road SUV will grace Australian showrooms from the second half of 2027 – taking on the likes of the Toyota Prado and Denza B8.
Headlining an aggressive model roll-out for Geely – with six new variants landing in Oz in the space of 12 months – the Battleship 700 doubles as a new halo product for the Geely brand.
Geely Australia head of product planning, Andrew Tuitahi, said the Battleship 700 would play a vital role for Geely as it looks to cement its place in the fast-changing Australian market.
“We’ve seen many brands build a strong reputation around durability and reliability off the back of rugged off-road products, so that kind of capability and demonstrating that we are able to build products capable of climbing mountains, climbing boulders, traversing trails – I think that bodes well for us in establishing ourselves as Australian-capable and Australian-ready,” he said.
Key to the Battleship 700’s magnetism is a ‘waltz’ U-turn feature which helps shrink the space needed to turn its 5.8-metre long dimensions. It is similar to the crab walk and tank turn functions offered by other vehicles. The ‘waltz’ is designed primarily for tight parking spaces, not off-roading.
Geely wasn’t willing to shed light on pricing of the Battleship 700 during a preview walkaround of a Chinese-specification pre-production model in Sydney this week. However, it is understood a starting figure of about $70,000 (plus on-road costs) is being examined quite closely - a figure which would allow it to importantly undercut the current Toyota Prado range.
For that, buyers will get a vehicle running a plug-in hybrid drivetrain boasting 830kW – courtesy of a 2.0-litre petrol engine combined with a 47kWh battery providing power to three (three!) electric motors.
Along with the headline 830kW figure, the Battleship 700 is expected to offer up to 170km of electric range, 233mm of standard ground clearance, a water wading depth of 800mm, front and rear diff locks and much more.
Based on the Chinese-specification version we sat in this week – which will also be part of Geely’s stand at the Everything Electric event held in Sydney Olympic Park, this weekend – the Battleship 700 features a 15.6-inch touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, heated and cooled centre console compartment, a 23-speaker premium sound system, and much, much more.
The Battleship 700’s arrival comes as Geely continues to grow its national footprint in Australia.
Tuitahi said the brand was currently at 97 dealerships nationally – either in operation or at committed to opening – and was eyeing additional growth.
“The aspiration is to get to 130 dealerships by Q2 next year,” he said.
“We always want to be faster operating at China speed, so I’d never say we’re ahead of where we want to be. But I’d say we’re nicely placed.
“That number is up there and it’s really getting close to the Hyundais and Kias by way of dealership locations. For us having that number of committed dealer partners really should give customers some assurance that they’ve got service, parts as well as sales and support options all around the country.”
