Geely Riddara to assemble electric pickup truck in Thailand

The Geely Riddara RD6 pickup truck.

Geely Riddara Thailand, Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group’s Thai subsidiary, confirmed that it is moving ahead with plans to assemble its battery-powered Riddara RD6 pickup truck locally, as it looks to tap in to growing demand for electric vehicles in the country.

The Thai pickup truck market is traditionally one of the main segments of Thailand’s vehicle market, but demand has plunged in the last few years as the country’s highly indebted consumers and small businesses struggled to access vehicle financing after banks tightened lending criteria in response to rising non-performing loans.

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Geely Riddara began sales of the RD6 in Thailand at the end of 2024, with deliveries amounting to 670 units in 2025 – all imported from its parent company’s manufacturing hub in Zibo, in China’s Shandong Province.

The company sees significant potential to grow Thailand’s battery-powered pickup truck segment, despite the recent sharp slowdown in overall pickup truck sales. It is also looking to establish a regional production hub to supply the RD6 to neighbouring ASEAN markets.

Geely Riddara’s general manager, Cao Feng, recently told reporters: “This country is an opportunity market for the pickup segment. Even though sales have slowed, in the long term we are confident that sales of battery-powered pickups will continue to grow, as they are more energy-efficient compared with ICE-powered pickup trucks.”

Geely Riddara said that it is has already begun marketing the RD6 in Myanmar, Laos and the Philippines, and is currently exploring opportunities in Malaysia.

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