Chinese automaker Hengchi has revealed its first mass-market car, a battery SUV named simply the ‘5’. The production car looks very different from the concept version shown before with its boomerang-shaped headlights, windows narrowing towards the back, and a large panoramic sunroof. The photos show two different exterior variants – black and bi-color.
At 4,725 mm long with 2,780 mm between the
axles, the car weighs less than two metric tons. It uses a single 201-hp electric motor for propulsion, which Hengchi produces locally in a
joint enterprise with Bosch. The drivetrain limits it to a top speed of 180 km.
Production is set to take place in
Tianjin, China, where a new factory has been built recently. A full-fledged
premiere will follow at the Guangzhou Auto Show in late November. No other
information is given at this point.
Hengchi is a car brand owned by Evergrande
Group, which also controls the NEVS consortium that owns the Saab marque.
Evergrande had reportedly wanted to get rid of this property by selling it to
Xiaomi, but the deal fell through. It also vowed to design nine new EVs by 2035
and increase output to 5,000,000 annual units.
