Volvo and Lotus parent Geely first revealed its electric ute in 2022, since which point it’s only been produced in left-hand drive. That just changed.
The Chinese giant’s fledgling Radar brand has shown off a right-hand drive version of its RD6 electric ute on LinkedIn with a few exterior and interior images, as well as “available in your market soon” in the caption.
Interestingly this particular electric ute isn’t called the Radar RD6, like it was initially revealed for the Chinese market, but rather the Riddara RD6.
It’s unclear if this is the international name of Geely’s electric ute. We’ve reached out Riddara and will update this story once we hear back.
It does make sense for Geely to go with Riddara branding outside of China. It cancelled its trademark for the word ‘Radar’ in Australia in November 2022 following opposition to registration from Omni United, which is a Singapore-based tyre company that has a tyre sub-brand called Radar Tires.
Geely also registered a trademark for the word ‘Riddara’ in Australia in March 2023. It’s still registered and protected.
So far Riddara has only confirmed the RD6 will be produced in single-motor rear-wheel drive form with two different battery pack options. In China Radar recently revealed an all-wheel drive version of the RD6 called the Horizon.
The single electric motor in the Riddara RD6 produces 200kW of power and 384Nm of torque. It’s fed by either a 63kWh battery pack which offers a CLTC claimed range of 385km, or an 86kWh battery pack which offers a CLTC claimed range of 517km.
All Riddara RD6 variants have a claimed towing capacity of 2500kg and maximum payload between 755kg and 775kg, depending on the variant.
The electric ute measures in at 5260mm long, 1900mm wide, and 1865mm tall with a 3120mm wheelbase. This is around the same size as the Nissan Navara.
The tub on the RD6 measures in at 1525mm long, 1450mm wide, and 540mm tall. This is slightly smaller than the tubs of the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger.
The RD6 is underpinned by a version of Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), which also underpins models like the Volvo EX30, Zeekr X, Polestar 4, and Smart #1.
Inside the Riddara RD6 is identical to the Radar RD6 but has ‘Riddara’ badging instead. It has a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a 9.0-inch head-up display, and 72-colour interior ambient lighting.
On the safety front the Radar RD6 offers six airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and traffic sign recognition.
Geely has previously pledged its intention to take the Radar brand global, though an Australian launch has yet to be announced. Another brand under the Geely umbrella, Volvo, has previously indicated in 2022 it would like to handle sales and distribution of the brand locally.
While Radar, or Riddara, hasn’t confirmed any plans for Australia, another Geely brand is coming here.
Zeekr is due here in the second half of 2024, and has confirmed its 009 electric people mover as its first offering.
