The Changan Shenlan SL03 is expected to be a hot seller in China's mainstream NEV market, with steady-state monthly sales expected to top 15,000 units, analysts say.
The Tesla Model 3 is targeting one of the largest market spaces in China, so it's not surprising to see a flurry of potential competitors emerge.
Changan Automobile, based in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, officially unveiled the Shenlan SL03 electric sedan at a launch event Monday night, which is set to become another strong competitor to the Tesla Model 3 after BYD's Seal model.
Unlike the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal, Changan is offering the Shenlan SL03 in three power forms - all-electric, extended-range and hydrogen fuel cell.
The all-electric version of the Shenlan SL03 is available in two variants: a version with a CLTC range of 515 km for RMB 183,900 ($27,240) and a version with a CLTC range of 705 km for RMB 215,900.
The extended-range version of the model is available only as one option for RMB 168,900 with a combined range of 1,200 km.
Deliveries of the pure electric and extended-range versions of the Shenlan SL03 are expected to begin in early August.
In addition to these three options, the hydrogen fuel cell version of the Shenlan SL03 has a CLTC range of 730 km and is priced at a whopping RMB 699,900, making it essentially a showcase of technical capability rather than a product for consumer adoption.
About an hour after the launch, Changan announced that the number of pre-orders for the Shenlan SL03 exceeded 10,000 units.
The SL03, the first model under the Shenlan brand, is a midsize car based on Changan's EPA1 platform with a length, width and height of 4,820 mm, 1,890 mm and 1,480 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,900 mm.
For comparison, the BYD Seal has a length, width and height of 4,800 mm, 1,875 mm and 1,460 mm and a wheelbase of 2,920 mm. The China-made Tesla Model 3 has a length, width and height of 4,694 mm, 1,850 mm and 1,443 mm and a wheelbase of 2,875 mm.
The BYD Seal, which has not yet been officially launched, has a pre-sale price range of RMB 212,800 to RMB 289,800. The Model 3 is currently offered in two versions in China, with the entry version priced at RMB 279,900 and the Performance version priced at RMB 367,900.
The Shenlan SL03 has a 190-kW electric motor in the 515 km range all-electric version, and a 160-kW motor in the 705 km range and extended-range versions. All three versions have an electric motor with a torque of 320 Nm.
The 515 km version is equipped with a 58.1 kWh Li-ion battery pack and accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds. The 705 km version is equipped with a 79.97 kWh Li-ion battery pack and has a combined CLTC range of 705 km and accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 6.9 seconds.
The extended-range version of the Shenlan SL03 is equipped with a 1.5L four-cylinder engine and an electric motor with a maximum power of 160 kW and peak torque of 320Nm, and a 28.39 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack.
This version has a CLTC range of 1,200 km on full fuel and 200 km on battery and a fuel consumption of 4.5L per 100 km on a low battery capacity.
The Shenlan SL03's hydrogen fuel cell version has an electric motor with a maximum power of 160 kw and a peak torque of 320 Nm. It accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 9.5 seconds and can be refueled with hydrogen fuel in as little as 3 minutes.
In terms of smart driving hardware, the Shenlan SL03 has 15 sensing components including six ultrasonic radars, three millimeter-wave radars and six high-performance cameras.
The model is equipped with assistance functions including IACC (integrated adaptive cruise control), lane change assist, intelligent panoramic view, and AEB (automatic emergency braking).
Changan has introduced APA 7.0 remote valet parking for the model, which will upgrade the vehicle to 34 sensing hardware if users subscribe to the service.
Changan has also introduced a Pilot Assisted Driving feature for the Shenlan SL03 called NID 3.0, which is available for pre-order along with APA 7.0 at a current discounted price of RMB 20,000. However both features are only available on the pure electric versions.
The Shenlan SL03 comes standard with the Qualcomm 8155 chip, which is the cockpit chip commonly used in flagship models sold in China today.
The Shenlan SL03 has clear advantages in design, performance and intelligence among its competitors in its class, with a product definition that is more in line with the needs of younger consumers, said the team lead by Cui Yan, an analyst at local Chinese brokerage firm Huaxi Securities, in a research report on Monday evening.
The model is expected to become a hot seller in China's mainstream new energy vehicle (NEV) market, with steady-state monthly sales expected to exceed 15,000 units, the team said.
The extended-range version of the Shenlan SL03 is priced as low as RMB 168,900 and has high cost-effectiveness and is expected to account for 60 percent of the SL03's total sales, according to the team.
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