‘Made In China’ is no longer frowned upon in the automotive market.
We have an interesting Christmas coming up and ‘Santa Claus’ has three possible electric cars for some Malaysians with enough monthly disposable income to book as a second or third car in their home.
All three new electric cars are from China and come from very established Chinese automotive (and technology) brands.
Some have already been in Malaysia, some left years ago and there is one first timer with high expectations.
The one brand that is making a strong comeback is Chery and they have hinted that their most talked about crossover, the OMODA 5 Crossover will arrive as a petrol powered model and also a tax free full electric vehicle. Specifications for the Malaysian version of the OMODA 5 EV will probably be 150kW and 400Nm delivered at a front-mounted electric motor from a 64kWh battery pack.
The above figures will probably be good for a decent 450km of claimed driving range according to European WLTP procedures. It will have a zero to 80 percent fast charge time in a good 40 minutes, and a five-hour slow charge on a home wall-box battery charger. The Omoda 5 EV might be priced between RM150,000 and RM175,000.
The BYD Atto 3 is rumored to arrive with a more attractive selling price of RM145,000 to RM170,000. There is a single drive motor producing 150kW of energy and 310Nm of torque.
The BYD Atto 3 uses the bigger of the Blade batteries, which is a 60kW unit that will provide a decent 480km driving range and it will take just an hour to recharge on a DC quick charger.
On the other hand, using a household charging unit will take about 11 hours which can easily be done overnight which is what most urban electric cars users should be doing.
Finally, we have the Ora Good Cat from Great Wall Motors which has already been test driven by the Malaysia media and bookings have been very promising since it was shown to the Malaysian public. It runs on a 105kW electric motor that drives the front wheels and produce 143Ps of power and 210Nm of torque.
Interestingly, this cute EV will delivers the best battery range which is about 500km from its 63kWh battery. It charges from 0-80 percent in about an hour with DC fast charging and from 0-100 percent charging takes about 10 hours on an AC charger. Possible selling price is from RM155,000 to RM170,000.
So, the question now for some Malaysians looking for an affordable electric car is to go for a stylish futuristic crossover like the OMODA 5, or get a handsome 5 door hatchback from BYD or take home a cute four door car called the Ora Good Cat that stirs emotion and attention on the road.
Meanwhile, the first of the above three vehicles to be launched will be the Ora Good Cat in late November this year with possible deliveries just before Christmas.
The BYD EV’s will be launched 3 weeks before Christmas and deliveries might only start in early 2023. The OMODA 5 crossover might be in your garage for Christmas 2023, next year only.
