Is the Chinese Jiyue 07 the most beautiful electric sedan in the world? The Germans say ‘Ja’
The Jiyue 07 electric sedan has been launched in China and has instantly won awards for its beauty in two prestigious German design awards.
Rattling its more established rivals from European, American, Japanese and Korean car brands, the Jiyue is the work of a collaboration between Geely and China’s Google-rivalling tech giant Baidu.
Receiving accolades from both the iF Design Award and Red Dot 2023, where it was voted best electric sports sedan, the Jiyue 07 was previously known as the Jidu Robo-02 concept before the brand and car were renamed before launch.
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Founded only in 2021, Geely reportedly owns 65 per cent of the new joint venture with Baidu, with the latter responsible for the car’s software, autonomous driving aids and connectivity.
Following on from the Jiyue 01 SUV, the 07 sedan will debut in 2024.
Winning praise for its sleek styling, wide wheel arches and low beltline, the Jiyue 07 features simple smooth surfacing that make it a master of minimalism. It even does without door handles. Instead, there’s buttons on both the B- and C-pillars that operate powered doors.
Up front, there’s Y-shaped headlamps that are shared with the Jiyue 01 SUV, while above is a huge panoramic roof.
At the rear there’s a one-piece tail lamp and a pop-up spoiler to keep the 07 stable at high speed.
Beneath its svelte skin, the Jiyue sits on Geely’s SEA architecture and share’s much with the latest Zeekr 007 sedan.
Size-wise expect it to occupy the middle ground between the Tesla Model 3 and the larger Model S (that is no longer offered in Australia).
While the entry-level Jiyue 07 will come with a single 200kW electric motor and a 71.4kWh battery, the range-topping versions will come equipped with dual-motors that will pump out 400kW and be combined with a 100kWh battery pack.
Ahead of its launch in Q3 of 2024 there’s still no word what level of autonomous driving will be offered, but the Baidu system is said to only rely on cameras and radar and not include LiDAR sensors.
This suggests it will only offer Level 2+ autonomy, rather than the far more advanced Level 4 driverless tech that was previewed by the original Jidu Robo-02 concept.
In China, despite being bigger, the Jiyue 07 will be positioned as a Tesla Model 3 fighter with the stylish sedan set to be priced accordingly.
