Geely wants to sell their new EV platform to other automakers

Geely just built their new electric vehicle platform, and they want to share it with automakers around the world.

At the 2020 Beijing Auto Show, the Chinese automaker revealed their new scalable EV platform called the Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA). According to Geely, SEA is also the first open-source electric vehicle architecture and promises to “ transform the availability of zero-emission cars and trucks in the world’s largest auto markets”.

“This far-reaching innovation will greatly expand the volume and scalability of our zero-emission models, and we intend to offer the benefits of this innovation to other manufacturers – reflecting the common interests in our industry in addressing the challenges of climate change. Open-source architectures will be a hallmark of new mobility services, of which Geely Holding is proud to be the pioneer,” said Li Shufu, chairman and founder of Geely Holding.

Geely's new SEA platform can underpin a wide variety of vehicles – from smaller A-segment models up to light commercial vehicles. Much like most scalable EV platforms, Geely offers various packaging solutions for the platform. As such, it can be equipped with front, rear, and all-wheel drive motors, as well as single and multiple motor layouts.

As mentioned by Geely's chairman, the SEA platform is intended to be offered to other automakers around the globe. Furthermore, they have already begun talks with several automakers about the platform's potential use. Unfortunately, it was not disclosed which manufacturers the Chinese automaker was in talks with. By using Geely's new EV architecture, other manufacturers can speed up the development of their own EVs while reducing costs at the same time. 

The first model to ever use this new SEA platform is the Lynk & Co Zero Concept which also debuted in Beijing. According to Geely's subsidiary, Lynk & Co, the Zero Concept will have a range of “over 700km”. No specifics were mentioned but the production model is set to debut in 2021. Design-wise, it looks very much like Lynk & Co's current models but with cleaner lines. Inside, it looks very futuristic with an illuminated dashboard; a feature we hope gets carried over to the production model.

Will other automakers bite and use Geely's scaleable EV platform in the future? We're not quite sure, but we expect Lynk & Co won't be the only one to use the new platform, and other brands under the Geely group such as Volvo, Polestar, and even Lotus will probably do the same.