Geely has given us a first glimpse of its next car to launch in the UK – the Monjaro EM-i is a plug-in hybrid SUV that will top out the Chinese carmaker’s range. 

The company says that the name of the new car has been inspired by Africa’s highest mountain and not the prescription weight loss jab. Indeed, you’ll be able to spot a mountainous depiction on the passenger side of the dashboard as a little stylistic flourish (Exhibit A, below). Why's it not called the Manjaro? Let's just stop asking questions. 

The Monjaro has been on sale in China since 2021 as the Xingyue L, and comes with a 39.6kWh battery and a 1.5-litre petrol engine. It’s rated for what would translate to around 106 miles of electric range on the WLTP cycle. 

The car made its European debut at this month’s Paris motor show, but Geely has been quiet about specific details of the PHEV ahead of its launch. What we do know so far is that the Monjaro will have a 633-litre boot, 25.6in infotainment display and the option of front-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive powertrains. 

The new Monjaro EM-i is set to go on sale in January 2027 – there’s no word on what sort of price we can expect yet, but considering that the mid-sized Starray plug-in hybrid SUV that will sit a rung below the car in the Geely range starts from £30k, we can expect something in the mid-£30k range for this. 

The UK will likely be a key market for cars like the Monjaro EM-i now that the European Union is set to introduce limits on plug-in hybrid cars from China in order to protect its own manufacturers. 

Unusually among Chinese brands, Geely already has a very strong presence in the region – it owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and black cab maker LEVC, which all build a significant number of vehicles in Europe between them. 

Geely also recently announced a partnership with Ford, with the two manufacturers set to work together on building SUVs in Spain.