Jameel Motors UK expects to shake up the UK’s electric LCV market after announcing prices for its first product, the Farizon SV large van.
Order books are open for the SV at prices starting from £45,000 plus VAT, and Jameel believes its combination of a highly innovative vehicle, real-world practicality and high specification will appeal to UK buyers.
Farizon is the commercial vehicle division of Geely Holdings, the Geely name already known as one of China’s largest automotive manufacturers – it has produced some 3.3 million vehicles across the globe in 2024 both under its own name and with companies it has joint programmes with, such as Volvo, Polestar and Lotus. Close to 1.5 million of these vehicles have been plug-in types.
Farizon was the first Chinese brand to develop a purely electric drivetrain and today produces everything from vans to buses and heavy trucks, leading the market in every sector it competes in and seeing double-digit market share growth in the last three years.
Farizon has previously mostly focused on the domestic Chinese market but is now expanding into Europe with Jameel as its distributor – founded some 80 years ago the company built its reputation distributing Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Saudi Arabia, and today distributes vehicles for 20 brands in eight markets across North Africa, Asia and Europe.
The UK is the first major market launch for the Farizon SV, a large van specifically designed for Europe. Eight models will be available across L1 H1, L1 H2, L2 H2, L2 H3 and L3 H3 configurations, and with a choice of 67 kWh or an 83 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, and in the L3 H3 a 106 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery.
Practicality is a core element of the SV – the low-mounted battery pack produces a loading height of only 550mm, with a side-loading door opening up a one-metre space further aided by the lack of a B pillar on the passenger side.
The van’s light construction enables payload ratings of 1035 to 1350kg with volumes ranging from seven to 13 cubic metres, which Farizon sales head Kate McLaren says outdoes rivals by some 20%.
McLaren adds the range between charges, of up to 247 miles on the combined cycle and 342 on the city cycle, “easily beats all competitors”.
Innovations on the SV include a drive-by-wire steering arrangement and double-wishbone front suspension, the aim being to produce ride comfort and steering response akin to a car’s.
Like other Chinese brands that have recently launched onto the UK market Jameel intends to adopt a franchised dealer approach – the brand is in the process of setting up a network with the aim being to have a small number of dealers with large market areas.
Ensuring Farizon vehicles meet the prime requirement of customers, uptime, will see the aftersales network playing a major role – a partnership with the AA is a central pillar of this, effectively providing mobile technicians with minimal delays, backed by a significant investment in parts. All vans will also come with a four-year warranty and eight-year battery warranty.
Jameel Motors UK managing director Tom Carney believes the future is bright for Farizon in the UK. “We have teamed a global designer and manufacturer of particularly EV models with a local distributor sales focus with means, and are ready to carve out a significant presence in the UK.
“We have a dealership team with pedigree in large dealer groups, with large OEMs, who are highly motivated with no legacy issues.”
He also believes the Farizon price will be a prime factor in its success. “We already knew that the Farizon SV would be a unique product in this competitive segment, and now we know it will be ultra-competitive on price and significantly exceed expectations for standard specification, too. “Not only is the list of standard features impressive, the SV also includes features that aren’t available at all on competitor models, such as the weight monitoring system. That explains why we are seeing such excitement and interest in the SV from fleets large and small.” The Farizon SV will be displayed at the CV Show in Birmingham in April and Jameel Motors UK expects to be starting deliveries of the vehicle at around the same time. Clean-sheet electric: Click here for Farizon SV first drive.
