New Geely Monjaro EM-i has a jab at Skoda Kodiaq and Hyundai Santa Fe

The new Geely Monjaro EM-i has made its debut at the 2026 Paris Motor Show, and will be hoping it doesn’t suppress people’s appetite for large family SUVs, because the Skoda Kodiaq and Hyundai Santa Fe rival is landing in the UK next year. 

First of all, yes, ironically you do pronounce the name of this 4.8-metre long, roughly two-tonne plug-in hybrid SUV the same as the hot-topic weight-loss drug, Mounjaro. There’s no prescription required for this one though, and the brand swears it was inspired by Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, not a trip to the pharmacist.

Under the bonnet is Geely’s ‘EM-i Super Hybrid’ system, which can already be found in its smaller Starray mid-size SUV. It pairs a hybrid-dedicated 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with one electric motor in standard front-wheel drive models, or two e-motors if customers upgrade to the all-wheel drive version.

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No power or performance figures have been released as yet, nor has the size of the hybrid system’s battery or its claimed EV range. It’ll presumably deliver more than the 255bhp in the Starray, but if the new arrival is offered with the same choice of 18.4kWh or 29.8kWh batteries as its sibling, we would expect a pure-electric driving range of more than 70 miles. That would put it on par with the equivalent plug-in hybrid Kodiaq.

There will be four driving modes in the standard model – Pure, Hybrid, Power and Snow – while the all-wheel-drive version also gets Off-Road and Sand settings. 

The GEA Evo platform the Monjaro sits on can accommodate front and rear-axle decoupling for improved efficiency, and even torque vectoring for greater stability. Adaptive suspension will also be available on all-wheel-drive models, offering drivers a choice of Comfort, Standard and Sport settings, and the ability to react to road conditions in as little as 20 milliseconds, the brand claims.

The design of the Monjaro is very different from the Starray, opting for a more traditional premium SUV look. Meanwhile inside, there’s a 15.4-inch central touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, plus a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and plenty of chrome-esque trim, again for that traditional premium aesthetic. A 25.6-inch head-up display will be available as an optional extra, along with a 16-speaker, 1,000-watt surround sound system.

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The Monjaro is ever-so slightly longer and taller than the second-generation Kodiaq, and its 2.85-metre wheelbase stretches further too, so there should be no shortage of space onboard. At launch, the Geely will only be able to seat five, but there should also be a seven-seat version at some point, to match its key competitors. 

There’s 633 litres of boot space on offer, expanding to 1,532 litres with the back seats folded down. That’s significantly less than the plug-in hybrid Kodiaq iV, which has a 745-litre boot and can hold up to 1,945 litres worth of stuff in two-seat mode.

We’re expecting pricing for the Geely Monjaro will start in the low £40,000s. That’s about £10k more than the Starray, which is only slightly smaller and comes with the same hybrid system. But perhaps more importantly, the newcomer will be looking to undercut the Kodiaq iV, which starts from just under £43,000, and the Sante Fe Plug-in Hybrid that’s priced from about £53,000.  

The Monjaro will serve as its maker’s flagship model in the UK when it lands in showrooms next year, but this will be only a temporary position. In 2028, Geely is bringing a hybrid 4x4 known as the Galaxy Battleship 700 in China to our shores to rival the Land Rover Defender, and when it finally does arrive, it will sit at the top of the Geely range.

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