Technologically competitive, cheaper, really ambitious… Chinese electric cars are coming. Chinese manufacturers have been worrying the industry for years, they are suddenly there. We have selected six cars that will highlight the French market.
Chinese automakers have long been planning to invade the European market. It’s done now, you see more and more Chinese cars on French roads. After the entire auto industry has been whispering worriedly for years that the Chinese are coming, suddenly they are here. We have made a selection of cars that we think will mark the French market.
Or a Funky Cat
The Ora Funky Cat, from the Great Wall group we encountered in Norway, is a 100% electric city car that takes on a retro design with soft lines on the outside and two large googly eyes with matrix LED technology as headlights. It is a very serious alternative to the Peugeot e-208, the Renault Zoé or even the future MG4.
Two versions will be offered, a small battery with a capacity of 49 kWh, which should be able to drive 300 kilometers according to the WLTP standard. The large battery stores 63 kWh for 400 kilometers. The more powerful of the two electric motors with 126 kW (171 hp) will make it possible to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.3 seconds. As for the small engine, it has a power of 105 kW (143 hp).
The little extra of the Funky Cat is the built-in system. The software part is, in fact, remarkably fluid and the design very convincing and hyper-colored. There’s a 10.25-inch screen for the instrument cluster and a second screen of a similar size (and fully touch-sensitive) for infotainment, in the center of the dash.
The big unknown remains the price and availability in France. In the UK, the Ora Funky Cat will be available at the end of this year for £30,495.
XPeng P7
In March 2022, Xpeng (Xiaopeng Motors) opened the first orders for its P5 sedan in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. It will have a very short lifespan, XPeng is finally counting on the P7 to break through in Europe.
The new XPeng P7 is a Chinese sedan designed to attract customers interested in the Tesla Model 3. Although in reality the P7 is halfway between the Model 3 and the Model S. But considering the prices, it’s an opponent of the Model 3.
The P7 is based on XPeng’s B platform, codenamed ‘Edward’, which was developed and designed in collaboration with Porsche. It has (almost) nothing to envy Tesla, whether in terms of its performance (655 Nm of torque and 0 to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds) or its autonomy (up to 530 km in the combined WLTP cycle), or its charging speed (up to 100kW).
The Xpeng P7 also has its own operating system, with OTA updates, as well as driver assistance modes, to enable Level 3 autonomous driving when possible.
Before its arrival in Europe, the price is 42,500 euros in Norway. We already see it in the Oslo showrooms, Maxime Fontanier was able to try it out. In France you will certainly have to pay a little more… Norway does not have a tax on electric cars.
MG MG4
MG already has a strong presence in France and the latest announcement is the MG4. The MG 4 (MG MG4) has opened its order book, it is the very first model in the range to be based on the new MSP (Modular Scalable Platform) platform developed by SAIC.
8 /10
The Chinese compact starts with a 51 kWh battery, which will allow it to travel 350 km on the WLTP cycle, the manufacturer said, while power is listed at 170 hp. A 2ᵉ version will also be offered, with a 65 kWh battery that offers a range of 450 km for a power of 204 hp. It then competes with the 220 version of the Mégane E-Tech, with its 60 kWh battery.
Later, other versions with four-wheel drive will also see the light of day. The currently most efficient variant accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 8 seconds, at a limited maximum speed of 160 km/h.
MG has announced that the MG4 will be sold in its entry-level version for 30,000 euros. A more than attractive price, which does not take into account the ecological bonus of 6,000 euros that is still in force until the end of the year to go to 5,000 euros next year. For comparison: the MG 4 will cost at least 5,000 euros less than the Renault Mégane E-Tech shown from 35,200 euros in its 130 hp version and with a 40 kWh battery.
Note that the MSP is compatible with battery replacement, as Nio already offers in China and Norway. The brand does not specify whether the MG will be equipped with this function, but we do knowit will be equipped with semi-autonomous driving via the MG Pilot system. The compact will also be compatible with remote OTA updates.
Nio ET7
Taking the same approach as many new car manufacturers, Nio has decided to land in Norway to launch the ET7 sedan and the ES8 SUV. Note that Nio is often spoken of. The Chinese brand offers battery replacement in minutes in dedicated stations. The one that caught our eye is the ET7.
9 /10
The ET7 is, in a way, the brand’s standard bearer in Europe, as it is a large electric sedan positioned as a rival to the famous Tesla Model S.
The car has several batteries, one in between 70 and 75 kWh with an autonomy of 500-550kmone second of 100 kWh with an autonomy of 700kmand finally a semi-solid battery of 150 kWh allowing the car to claim approx 1000km range on Chinese CLTC cycle with a single charge.
The car is equipped with two electric motors that together develop a power of 480kW (about 653 hp) and a maximum torque of 850 Nm. The front one is a permanent magnet motor, while the rear one is induction. These two engines make it possible to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds.
At the moment, prices in Germany have not yet been announced, but Nio is aiming for premium, namely Mercedes-Benz, Audi or BMW. The brand assures that the price will be substantially equivalent to today’s Tesla Model 3 Performance, ie about 65,000 euros. After Germany, the manufacturer will try to launch in the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, three countries where electric cars and infrastructure are much more democratized than in France.
AIWAYS U6
Finally, let’s finish with the category that sells best in France: an SUV. This is not the Aiways U5, which is already available, but the U6. It is an SUV with a coupe profile, with a 160 kW front engine and three battery capacities: 63, 72 and 88 kWh. With a range estimated between 450 and 600 km (WLTP).
It is still too early to know the prices of the U6. However, these should remain quite close to those of the U5, which stand at 39,990 euros and 44,990 euros excluding ecobonus.
BYD seal
Then there’s BYD (“Build your Dreams”), currently the largest electric car manufacturer in the world. It could start with the recently unveiled BYD Seal, an electric car the size of the Tesla Model 3 and with a range of about 500 kilometers.
It is an electric sedan that naturally competes with the Tesla Model 3, currently the best-selling trendy model in Europe.
In total, no less than three versions will be offered within the range of this BYD stamp. The least efficient version will then show an output of 204 hp from its single engine, while the variant that covers the catalog will combine two electric motors. Between the two, a 313 hp intermediate version will be offered, with propulsion only.
Help us build the future of Frandroid by taking this survey!
Commentaires
Enregistrer un commentaire