Like an improv troupe, Baojun, a joint venture between China’s SAIC and Wuling, along with America’s General Motors, is saying “Yes, and” to its customer base, responding to feedback of slow sales by introducing a larger version of its tiny, rugged SUV, the Yep. The Yep Plus adds two doors and some extra practicality to the cute SUV, of which Baojun managed to sell just 14,683 units in 2023. With a starting price of 83,800 yuan (US$ 11,800), the company was doubtless hoping for more impressive sales.
With a 28.1 kWh battery pack, the standard
Yep can go 303 km per charge, but has just 67 hp and
two doors. Although the size of the Yep Plus’s battery pack has not yet been
revealed, the new four-door SUV will be capable of going 401 km per
charge. To boost its performance, Baojun has upgraded the motor to produce 101
hp, enabling a top speed of 150 km/h. The company
undoubtedly aims to attract more buyers with this increased power and
practicality.
Like the standard Yep, the Yep Plus has
boxy, off-road-ready design, despite being intended for tightly-packed cities.
With a two-tone paint job, it looks a bit like an even smaller Ford Bronco
Sport. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know what the interior will look like, but
the Yep comes with a standard 10.25-inch touchscreen and an instrument screen
that is the same size, making it a surprisingly tech-forward vehicle for its
price. Unfortunately, the Yep Plus appears to have lost the trunk-mounted
screen that Yep drivers can use to communicate with vehicles behind them,
though it may be offered as an option.
The Yep Plus is expected to hit the
Chinese market in the first quarter of 2024. Pricing information has not yet
been revealed, but Chinese media report that it is expected to cost around
150,000 yuan (US$ 21,100).
