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(Yicai Global) Nov. 22 -- Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors has unveiled its first high-end electric vehicle to explore the luxury car market.
Jijialong, the first car under GWM’s new EV brand Saloon, made its global debut at the 19th Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition on Nov. 19. The electric sports sedan, which will be limited to just 101 units, is priced at CNY488,000 (USD76,400), higher than the average CNY300,000 from other Chinese traditional car brands, but in line with that of NEV makers such as Nio, Yicai Global noticed.
Jijialong, which means “mecha dragon,” will appear on the market in the second or third quarter next year, according to the plan the sixth independent brand of northern China’s Hebei province-based GWM released.
“Saloon is competing in two main domestic markets. The first one is that of EVs selling for over CNY350,000, in which the only two rivals are Nio and Shanghai-based HiPhi, while the second one is the traditional luxury car market with players such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi,” Wen Fei, chief executive of Saloon, told Yicai Global.
Saloon targets young and high-end people aged 20 to 40 years old influenced by the mecha culture, as the market does not have such cars yet, Wen added, noting that most EVs are sport utility vehicles, while sedans are rare.
The term mecha refers to the science-fiction genres where giant robots or machines controlled by people fight each other. Found in sci-fi movies, animations, comics, anime, and manga, the mecha culture has a huge fan base worldwide.
Saloon will launch a second EV model at the end of 2022, it said in its plan. Wen told Yicai Global that the independently market-operated startup plans to release two brand new or updated models on average a year, to sell 200,000 units by 2025
China’s Great Wall Motors Tests Luxury Car Market’s Waters With High-End EV
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