Evergrande Auto starts preorders for Hengchi 5 SUV

Evergrande Auto, the electric vehicle (EV) unit of Chinese property giant Evergrande Group, officially began presale of its first production model, the Hengchi 5, on July 6.

Liu Yongzhuo, president of Evergrande Auto, announced at an online event that the Hengchi 5's luxury version is priced at 179,000 yuan ($26,710) in presale after subsidies. Deliveries are expected to start as soon as October this year. The automaker wishes to deliver first 10,000 vehicles by the end of March 2023.

Hengchi 5; photo credit: Hengchi

Positioned as an A-segment all-electric SUV, the Hengchi 5 measures 4,725mm long, 1,925mm wide, and 1,676 tall, with a wheelbase of 2,780mm.

The model is equipped with an LFP battery pack offered by CATL, which features a rated capacity of 72.8kWh and can offer a range of 602km. The fast-charging mode allows the vehicle to be charged from 30% to 80% of its battery capacity in only 28 minutes.

The Hengchi 5 adopts Qualcomm's third-generation Snapdragon digital cockpit platform and Snapdragon 8155 chips. In addition, the model also carries a slew of technical features, including 5G connectivity, L2.5+ driver assistance system, HD map, Baidu’s in-car ecosystem, screen-based virtual assistant, as well as voice, vision, and gesture interaction.

The automaker said the Hengchi 5 would take on models like the Audi Q3 and the BMW X1. Nevertheless, in the full-electric vehicle sector, it should compete with such hotter-selling models as the BYD Song PLUS, the ID.4 X/CROZZ, the XPeng G3, and the AION V.

According to Liu Yongzhuo, Evergrande Auto will build a sales network of 200 outlets by the end of this year, comprising both direct-sales stores and authorized dealerships.