From a bus manufacturer here comes a full electric crossover that will be priced in China from USD21,435
Here comes another interesting full battery powered vehicle from Chinese company Skywell that has delivered a pretty good vehicle as its first product. This is the all new ET5 electric SUV which will start selling in China this October from USD21,435 and will come in five body colors – black, white, blue, purple or brown. Production is at its Jiangsu plant with an impressive target of 300,000 cars a year.
Based on a bespoke CE-platform of the company’s own design, the boxy ET5 is certainly a handsome looking car. This new electric vehicle dimensions are 4698mm in length, the width is 1908mm and its height is 1696 mm. The ET5 has a wheelbase of 2800mm which gives it a large footprint.
At the front, a simplistic, slim front grille design is flanked by slim LED headlights gives the SUV a purposeful yet elegant front end aesthetic.
Down the side there are dual-tone 19-inch alloy wheels on road tires mixing it up with the black plastic sill protectors and wheel arch extensions. A similar story could be told round the back, as the exposed rear skid plate and chunky rear reflectors contrasts nicely with the single full-width rear light bar and tail light combination. On the interior though, the macho has totally given way to the elegant.
It is not just the design of the interior that is impressive however, the impressive amount of standard equipment is also worth a mention. Floating atop a dual tiered dashboard design is a giant 12.8 inch central LED infotainment screen with ‘Skylink intelligent network connection system’ that is co-developed by Chinese consumer electronics giant Skyworth. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is also standard in the ET5.
Continuing on the subject of technology, a PM2.5-inch air purifier is standard too, as is L2.5 active driver aids that supposedly includes adaptive cruise control, auto emergency braking, autonomous parking and lane keep assist. Furthermore, a leather wrapped multi-function steering wheel, ventilated electronically-adjustable front seats, automatic climate control and even a panoramic sunroof appears to be standard equipment on the ET5.
Two variants of this Skywell electric SUV are available, both however are powered by the same single electric motor that produces 204 hp and 320 Nm of torque, presumably driving the front wheels. The only difference is that one variant has a claimed NEDC range of 410 km, while the other is a longer range variant with a claimed NEDC range of 520 km.
Prices begins at 152,800 yuan (RM 94,500) for the base spec with 410 km of range, rising to 198,800 yuan (RM 123,000) for the fully equipped model with 520 km of range.
At these prices, with these standard features and for it to look like this, it is hard to not take the Skywell ET5 seriously. With electric vehicle sales higher than ever before in Europe, especially Germany where 20,000 units were sold just in September 2020, the ET5 should find its way to Europe as quickly as possible.
Opinion and Text by Joshua Chin
