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The Homtruck will come with a shower and toilet, a single bed, a refrigerator, a kitchen area and a small washing machine. Photo: Handout
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Volvo owner Geely joins BYD, Tesla in electric truck fray, launches Homtruck

  • Drivers will be able to switch between pure electric power and hybrid batteries powered by methanol, a technology that Geely has been investing in for years
  • The Homtruck has also been developed to fully support autonomous driving and features a kitchen, shower and bed for drivers
Geely
Pearl Liu
Pearl Liu
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Chinese carmaking giant and Volvo Car owner Geely Automobile Group plans to deliver electric trucks in 2024.

Zhejiang-based Geely unveiled its electric truck, called Homtruck, late on Monday and said it aimed to produce 570,000 trucks by 2030.

“An upgrade of the next generation of vehicles was imminent, particularly commercial vehicles, as they put a heavy burden on the environment,” Li Shufu, Geely’s billionaire founder, said during the launch.

The Homtruck’s launch follows in the footsteps of Geely competitors BYD and Tesla, which have both unveiled electric trucks in the past. Production on Tesla’s Semi, which was launched in 2017, has delayed for some time – Pepsi said this week that it would receive its first set of Semis, which it ordered in 2017, in the fourth quarter.

BYD, which has used battery technology in its light trucks since 2013, launched two battery-powered heavy trucks in September. TuSimple, a Chinese autonomous truck start-up, said its self-driving electric trucks will be ready in 2024 as well.

“We have more than 30,000 truck drivers in China, and applying the technologies we have in new energy vehicles to trucks is a good way of improving their working environment and quality of life,” said Fan Xianjun, the CEO of Geely Commercial Vehicle Group, the subsidiary launching the Homtruck.

The Homtruck will come with a shower and toilet, a single bed, a refrigerator, a kitchen area and a small washing machine. Drivers will also be able to switch between power modes, from pure electric to hybrid batteries powered by methanol, a technology that Geely has been investing in for some years.
The interior of the truck includes a shower, bed and kitchen area. Photo: Handout.

They will also be able to swap out batteries, which will cut down on the need for charging the trucks. Geely will set up battery swap stations across the country to support the Homtruck.

The electric truck has also been developed to fully support autonomous driving. Geely plans to introduce autonomous driving in three phases, according to Fan. The company hopes to have some driverless features with more advanced systems in place by 2026, before achieving full autonomous driving capabilities in 2030.

Geely’s premium EV brand Zeekr raises US$500 million from investors such as CATL and Intel

Geely has been working to enhance its vehicles’ smart features ever since it teamed up with Chinese technology giant Baidu in January to make smart electric vehicles.

It said earlier that it would set aside 150 billion yuan (US$24.3 billion) for research and development over the next few years, with the ultimate goal of developing so-called L5, or fully autonomous, driving capabilities.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Geely takes on rivals with electric truck
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