Five new Chinese EVs debuting at Beijing motor show
For the first time in 2020 a major motor show will take place when Beijing opens its doors on September 26 to October 5.
Originally scheduled for April, the event was postponed because of the coronavirus.
Although COVID-19 has now been contained in China, it appears international auto brands will have a low key presence.
That will leave the many Chinese manufacturers to take much of the spotlight and there is an expected to be a focus on electrification.
Here’s some of the new Chinese EV models that have been teased or released in the lead-up to the show.
ArcFox Alpha-T
This is the first model from a new dedicated EV brand launched by the giant state-owned BAIC Group. Another of its subsidiaries, Foton, sells a diesel ute in Australia.
The name is pronounced Alpha T in English.
The 4788mm long/1940mm wide/1683mm high hatch comes with a 162kW/360Nm e-motor mated with a choice of 67kWh or 93.6KWh South Korean SK batteries.
The NEDC range claims are 480km with the smaller battery and 653km with the larger one. The price starts at about $56,000.
The Alpha T is built in a new plant in Zhenjiang via a joint-venture with Magna, the Canadian auto parts manufacturer.
Maxus Euniq 7 FCEV
A thousand puns come to mind related to the name, but we’ll quickly move on.
The Maxus brand is owned by SAIC Motor, one of China’s biggest state-owned auto conglomerates. It is having increasing sales success in Australia with the MG brand.
The Euniq 7 is a new hydrogen fuel cell people-mover that previews a big drive into FCEVs by SAIC. It will launch in China at the end of the year with another nine hydrogen-fuelled models set to follow by 2025.
The Euniq 7’s e-motor produces 150kW, three hydrogen tanks under the floor can hold 6.4kg of hydrogen, the range is about 600km and refuelling takes about five minutes.
Lynk & Co DC1E
Lynk & Co is a subsidiary of privately-owned auto giant Geely, which also owns Volvo and Polestar and a bunch of other brands we don’t see outside China.
Pitched as a youth brand, Lynk & Co has international aspirations but has yet to really get going outside China yet, where it was launched in 2016.
Expected to be dubbed the Lynk & Co 08 when it makes production, the DC1E concept is an electric fastback based on the new PMA (Pure Electric Modular) EV architecture that will also be used by Volvo, Polestar and Geely.
It comes as both rear- and dual-motor all-wheel drive with a sizeable 100kWh battery pack. The RWD range is claimed at 725km on the NEDC standard and the AWD 635km.
Measuring up at 4850mm long, 1980mm wide and 1530mm high with a 2999mm wheelbase this is a pretty big vehicle with air suspension and level three autonomous driving ability.
Hozon Auto Eureka 03
Not a lot of detail to go with this one, just a couple of moody teaser shots of a new BEV concept that will be unveiled during the Beijing show.
Hozon is one of the myriad electric car companies founded in China under the government’s the New Energy Vehicle program. It’s been around since 2014 and has a compact SUV called the Neta N01 in production.
It has also shown a larger SUV concept called the Neta U, but the Eureka is something different altogether. Some of the teasers have included a Ferrari 250 GTO in the background, suggesting this is a car with great sporting intent.
Beyond that we can tell it’s got a four-door coupe bodystyle, but beyond that … well, we’ll find out more this week.
Voyah SUV Concept
A new “truly anxiety-free high-end smart EV brand” launched by state-owned Dongfeng Motor, Voyah is showing off a concept of its first production model in Beijing.
Judging by the sketch it’s quite a dramatic looking SUV coupe, although little more detail has been released.
However, when the brand was first announced back in July a concept called the i-Land was the star attraction and it gives us hints of what to expect. It’s pictured at the top of this story.
The i-Land – which Voyah says will become a production sports car – rolls on a dedicated platform dubbed ESSA (Electric Smart & Secure Architecture) and claims level three and above autonomous driving capability.
Gullwing doors are a classic concept car design feature that are doubtful for production.
Voyah has declared its intention to launch at least one new model per year for the next three to five years.
