Geely's Riddara Overseas Layout: Radar RD6 Pure Electric Pickup, Redefining the New Experience of Mid-size Pickups
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Two years ago, a move by Chinese automaker Geely in the overseas market attracted industry attention—it officially registered the new Riddara trademark in Malaysia. At that time, many people wondered about the purpose of this new trademark, and subsequent news gradually revealed that Riddara is not a new brand launched by Geely, but the overseas English name of its sub-brand Radar Auto. Meanwhile, the right-hand drive version of Radar RD6, the core model of Radar Auto, officially entered mass production, which means that Geely, with the Riddara trademark, officially sounded the clarion call for Radar Auto to enter the overseas right-hand drive pickup market. Today, from a popular science perspective, we will take you to fully understand this pure electric mid-size pickup that carries Geely's overseas ambitions.
First of all, from the perspective of body size that everyone cares most about, the positioning of the Radar RD6 is very clear. Its body size reaches 5260mm × 1900mm × 1830mm, and the wheelbase is as long as 3120mm. This size performance is very close to the world-famous mid-size pickup Toyota Hilux, which is a standard mid-size pickup. It can not only meet the flexibility of daily commuting, but also take into account the needs of loading and multi-person travel, adapting to the diverse usage scenarios of overseas families and small businesses. It is worth mentioning that the length, width and height of its cargo compartment are 1525mm, 1450mm and 540mm respectively, with an overall volume of 1200L. In addition, there is a 70L frunk and a 48L valuables storage space in the rear row, making the loading practicality full. Whether it is loading daily sundries, outdoor equipment or small goods, it can be easily handled, which is also the core advantage of pickup models.
In terms of exterior design, the Radar RD6 breaks the stereotype of traditional pickups as "rough and bulky", adopting the design concept officially called "Flowing Light Dynamic Aesthetics", which perfectly integrates fashion and practicality. The front face adopts a closed grille design, matched with a through-type LED headlight group, with the RADAR English logo in the middle. It has high recognition when lit, without the dullness of traditional pickups at all; the side lines of the body are smooth, the cargo compartment is integrated with the cockpit, the three-dimensional lines above the wheel arches add a sense of power to the whole vehicle, the chrome decoration on the window frame and door edges improves the delicacy, and the roof rack equipped on the roof further enriches the practical attributes; the lower edge of the body is equipped with black plastic anti-scratch material, which can effectively resist slight scratches during daily driving and adapt to various outdoor usage scenarios; the rear of the car also adopts a through-type LED taillight with a Union Jack shape inside, echoing the front design. The overall shape not only conforms to the current aesthetic, but also retains the tough temperament of pickup models.
Entering the interior, the performance of the Radar RD6 completely subverts people's perception of traditional pickups as "simple and rough", and is more inclined to the delicacy and intelligence of household SUVs. The cockpit is equipped with a 12.3-inch full LCD instrument panel, a 9-inch HUD head-up display and a 12.3-inch central control touch screen host. The three screens are linked, which not only has a full sense of technology in visual effect, but also can realize seamless switching of information. When driving, you can clearly view key information such as vehicle speed and navigation through the HUD without bowing your head, improving driving safety and convenience. The central control host is equipped with Geely's self-developed Galaxy OS intelligent network connection system, supporting OTA online upgrade, covering rich functions such as voice control and mobile phone remote control. You can wake up the voice assistant by saying "Hello, Xiaolei", which can accurately execute operations such as playing music, switching navigation, controlling windows and making calls. It can even realize precise control according to the position of the speaker. For example, if a passenger in the co-pilot says "open the window", the system will separately control the rear right window to open, with a full intelligent experience. In addition, the car is also equipped with up to 72-color ambient lights, which can be freely switched according to driving mood and scenes, further enhancing the sense of atmosphere and luxury in the cockpit. The materials and craftsmanship are also very exquisite, with a delicate hand feel and a sense of hierarchy, completely breaking the limitation of pickup interiors that "emphasize practicality over experience".
In terms of power and cruising range, as a pure electric pickup, the performance of the Radar RD6 is also impressive. Built on Geely's SEA vast architecture, the car adopts the same three-electric system as the Zeekr 001. All models are equipped with a rear-mounted single-motor rear-wheel drive layout. The maximum power of the motor can reach 268Hp, and the peak torque is 384Nm. The strong power output enables it to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in only 6.9 seconds, with a top speed of 185km/h. This acceleration performance is very outstanding among pickups of the same level, completely getting rid of the label of traditional pickups as "weak power and slow acceleration", and the driving experience is closer to the smoothness and agility of household cars. In terms of cruising range, the car provides a variety of battery versions to choose from. Among them, the top-equipped model is equipped with a ternary lithium battery with a maximum capacity of 100kWh, and the maximum cruising range can reach 632km under the CLTC test standard, which can easily meet the needs of various scenarios such as daily commuting, long-distance travel and outdoor loading without frequent charging; in addition, the car also supports 6kW external discharge function. The multi-functional discharge panel equipped at the cargo compartment has two current outputs of 16A and 10A, and three interface specifications of three-hole, two-hole and 12V, covering six discharge modes such as static discharge, mobile discharge and V2V vehicle-to-vehicle discharge, which can meet various outdoor power needs such as outdoor camping and industrial power consumption, further improving practicality.
A key point that needs special popularization here is: different from traditional tough pickups, the Radar RD6 does not adopt a body-on-frame non-load-bearing body, but a monocoque load-bearing body, and is not equipped with the four-wheel drive system commonly found in traditional pickups. This means that this car is not suitable for heavy off-roading and cannot cope with complex off-road conditions, which is also the core difference between it and traditional tough pickups. But every coin has two sides. After abandoning the non-load-bearing body and four-wheel drive system, the weight of the Radar RD6 is lighter, and the driving quality has been significantly improved. When driving on ordinary paved roads, the comfort and stability are far superior to traditional pickups, with less bumps and smoother driving experience. It is more suitable for scenarios such as daily commuting, urban travel and light outdoor loading, accurately adapting to the needs of consumers who pursue the practicality of pickups and pay attention to driving comfort, and also opening up a new track for pure electric pickups as "urban practical type".
Looking back at this news two years ago, Geely's registration of the Riddara trademark and promotion of the mass production of the right-hand drive version of the Radar RD6 were behind its long-term strategy of deploying the overseas new energy pickup market. At that time, Geely planned to take the ASEAN market as a springboard to deepen the right-hand drive market through the Riddara brand. As a core model, the Radar RD6, with its fashionable design, intelligent configuration, strong power and practical loading capacity, is expected to break the overseas market's perception of Chinese pickups as "low-end and backward" and promote Chinese pure electric pickups to the world. Looking back now, this layout has also laid a solid foundation for the subsequent development of Geely Radar in the overseas market. With its own product strength, the Radar RD6 has redefined the new experience of mid-size pickups, allowing people to see more possibilities of pure electric pickups—it can not only be a practical loading tool, but also an intelligent, comfortable and suitable travel partner for daily use.