HANGZHOU: Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. on Tuesday unveiled its first compact electric vehicle, aiming to challenge the dominance of BYD Co.’s Seagull and Dolphin models in the entry-level segment in China.
The car, whose Chinese name Xingyuan translates to Wish Upon a Star, targets young, first-time car buyers and has a spacious design for its size. Pricing and more specifications will be revealed later, the company said.
They’ll be compared closely to those of the Seagull, which has a basic version that sells for as low as 69,800 yuan ($9,800) and the slightly larger Dolphin, which starts from 99,800 yuan.
Although the Xingyuan offers features such as a touch-screen dashboard and wireless mobile charging, Geely is positioning itself in an already crowded market for entry-level cars.
Since its launch a year ago, Seagull - the ocean-themed EV in BYD’s stable - has risen rapidly in the sales charts, vying with Tesla’s Model Y for the top spot in the Chinese market.
Others in the compact EV segment include Ora from Great Wall Motor Co. and Bingo from General Motors Co.’s joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. and Wuling Motors Holdings Ltd.
To sweeten the deal for potential customers, Geely has partnered with Haagen-Dazs to offer free ice cream to those taking the Xingyuan out for a test drive when it arrives in stores in the next few months.
While Xingyuan has impressive specifications and offers a lot of value, BYD will likely have anticipated that competition will intensify, said Tu Le, managing director at consultancy Sino Auto Insights.
"They’re prepared to compete with anyone that comes along to the challenge,” Le said. The beneficiary of all the rivalry will be the Chinese consumer, he said.
Last month, Geely launched a new cell technology dubbed the Short Blade Battery, in a nod to BYD’s pioneering Blade Battery.
