Notice to Detroit: Chinese EV Impresses US Testers

A Chinese SUV that Americans can't buy just aced a major US road test—and that, suggests Reuters, should put Detroit on alert. The car-shopping site Edmunds ran Geely's Galaxy M9, a three-row plug-in hybrid SUV sold in China for around $25,000, through its full 227-point evaluation in Los Angeles. Testers were impressed. Many of its features are "ahead of the vehicles that we're driving in the US," editor-in-chief Alistair Weaver tells Reuters. "The technology is terrific."

Performance-wise, its estimated 808-mile total range and roughly 100 miles of electric-only driving beat what US rivals have coming. Chinese cars are all but impossible to get in the US because of tariffs, but if that were not the case, Edmunds concluded the M9 could compete here at even twice its Chinese starting price. "The generous electric range is a great feature to have, and the ability to travel hundreds of miles with a gas extender is a feature that would put many EV skeptics at ease," reads the review. If conditions change to allow Geely into the US market, "the Galaxy M9 has a big chance of finding success here."