Meet The Affordable EV Beating Tesla And BYD At Their Own Game

• The Geely Xingyuan is taking on China’s best-selling electric vehicles like the BYD Seagull and Tesla Model Y.
• In just 14 months after launch, Geely has sold over half a million units of the Xingyuan.
• It could potentially end the year as China’s top-selling EV and one of the world’s best-selling electric models. 

A new electric vehicle is taking the Chinese auto market by storm, and it’s selling at a rate that would make BYD and Tesla nervous.

Geely Auto, the sister company of Volvo, Polestar and Zeekr under the Geely Group umbrella, launched the Xingyuan small electric hatchback in China last October. In a short span of time, it’s already one of China’s top-selling electric models.

It even dethroned the BYD Seagull and Tesla Model Y as China’s best-selling EV in the first half of this year, with over 200,000 units sold. From January to November, Geely has sold nearly 430,000 units of the Xingyuan, more than any other EV. What gives?

Photo by: Geely

For starters, the Xingyuan appears to offer incredible value on paper, even edging out popular Chinese EVs like the BYD Seagull, which has long ruled the affordability game.

The model year 2026 Xingyuan starts at about $9,700 (68,800 yuan), stretching up to $12,340 for the range-topping version, putting it in a similar price range as its main rival, the Seagull. For that money, which is not a lot even by Chinese standards, it offers cutting-edge software, interior space that outclasses rivals and high-quality materials inside, as several Chinese reviewers have noted.

It is based on Geely’s dedicated EV platform for affordable models, called the Sustainable Experience Architecture-Entry (SEA-E). Buyers get two CATL lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery options: 30-kilowatt-hours and 40 kWh.

Photo by: Geely

The smaller pack delivers 310 kilometers (192 miles) of range, while the big battery is good for 410 kilometers (254 miles) on China’s light-duty vehicle test cycle (CLTC), which tends to be more forgiving than the EPA system in the U.S. The real-world range would likely be lower.

But China has the world’s largest charging network, meaning even a lower range EV has more appeal when you have chargers everywhere. According to some estimates, there are now two chargers for every five cars in China. The network itself has surpassed 16 million connectors—most of them private.

Range anxiety probably still exists in China, just not for EV drivers. Gas car owners now face a shrinking gas station network, with thousands expected to close by the end of the decade.

Other areas where the Geely outclasses the competition include the chassis. It’s rear-wheel drive and gets independent rear suspension for a more mature ride, which is rare for affordable superminis, which usually come in front-wheel-drive configuration. The Seagull is FWD and has a less sophisticated torsion-beam suspension at the rear.

Photo by: Geely

It also borrows the same Flyme Auto smart cockpit system from far more expensive Geely vehicles, with things like the 14.1-inch infotainment display and an 8.8-inch digital gauge cluster. It also has a 375-liter boot and a 70-liter frunk—combined, that’s more than the Volkswagen Golf, which is a much larger car.

Still, Geely did seem to have cut some corners. The Xingyuan doesn’t have rear wipers and the front wipers don’t have an automatic function. There’s no automatic air conditioning either, only manual. But those things seem trivial when you look at the overall package. And the sales numbers speak for themselves.

In the 14-odd months since its October 2024 launch, Geely has already sold more than half a million units of the hatchback. It was also the world’s third best-selling EV in the first three quarters of this year, behind the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, according to AutoVista24.

If its current sales trajectory continues through the end of the year, it would not only become China’s top-selling EV, but potentially also steal the Model 3’s second spot, given the projected slowdown in EV sales in the U.S. in the final quarter of the year.

Have a tip? Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com