Avatr will launch two new models in 2024 and will have four EVEVs to add to the lineup, its president said.
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Avatr Technology will add extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) models to its lineup, becoming the latest battery electric vehicle (BEV) maker to do so in an attempt to gain higher sales by targeting a larger market.
The EV brand, backed by CATL, Huawei and Changan Automobile, will launch two new models in 2024 and will have four EVEVs to add to its production lines.
Avatr president Chen Zhuo revealed the plan in a video in late December, according to the video released by the brand.
Avatr currently sells the Avatr 11 SUV and the Avatr 12 sedan, both of which are BEVs, and the company will introduce new models in 2024 with the internal codenames E15 and E16, according to its previously mentioned plans.
Chen didn't elaborate on the EREV plans, but what he seems to mean is that Avatr would launch EREV variants for both current models, as well as the two new models coming in 2024.
A large number of tier 3 and tier 4 cities in China, as well as some areas in the northwest with very cold winters, are less friendly environments for BEVs, Chen said in the video.
In addition, regions like Xinjiang have very long distances between different counties, and BEV users can have anxiety there, he said.
"So offering the option of EVERs to users is actually more user-friendly," Chen said.
Avatr was initially co-founded by Changan and Nio as Changan Nio on July 10, 2018. Currently Nio has materially exited from the joint venture, holding less than 1 percent stake.
Avatr launched its first model, the Avatr 11, on August 9, 2022, and its deliveries began in late December 2022. On November 10, 2023, the Avatr 12 was launched, and deliveries began in December.
Most of China's earliest EV startups targeted the BEV market at the very beginning, but experience over the past few years has shown that plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), including EREVs, are popular in the electrification transition.
In addition, Li Auto's (NASDAQ: LI) huge success in the extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) market proves that EREVs are more accepted.
Li Auto delivered a record 50,353 vehicles in December and 376,030 vehicles for the full year 2023. The company will challenge annual deliveries of 800,000 vehicles as well as monthly deliveries of 100,000 vehicles in 2024.
Neta Auto, and Leapmotor are also offering EREVs, both of which initially offered only BEVs.
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