SAIC, General Motors and the Volkswagen Group revealed the most important new and future models at this year’s Chengdu motor show. Below is a list of vehicle world debuts. A trending return towards C segment sedans and the addition of wagons (see Hyundai) continues.
Information on the following models can be found by searching PLDB, just-auto’s global vehicle database. Simply click on the link at the end of this list.
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Audi A6 L
Extended wheelbase car has most of the additional length in its rear doors. FAW Volkswagen’s new sedan is expected to be manufactured in Changchun.
Audi Q2 L
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The long wheelbase model Q2 L is built solely in China and sold mostly there too. It is part of the FAW Volkswagen joint venture and was the first vehicle for a second phase of the JV’s doubling of its capacity at the Foshan manufacturing base to 600,000 units per annum. The capacity lift was completed in June with 110,000 units per annum set aside for the Q2 L. This is the vehicle’s motor show premiere.
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By GlobalDataBeijing Auto X55
The show debut for the second generation of this SUV which went on sale in China during August. The standard engine is a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol unit linked to a CVT. An electric version is set to be added during 2019. Prices for this 4,480mm long model started at CNY90,000.
BJEV EC3
A 4.2m long electric SUV, the EC3 has just gone into production. It is manufactured by Beijing Auto New Energy, a subsidiary of BAIC.
A wild-looking and similarly sized prototype called EX3 was exhibited at the Beijing motor show in April. Sadly, the EC3 looks nothing like that curvy design study. The range from the CATL-supplied battery pack is claimed to be up to 260km.
Buick Excelle
Not to be confused with the older Excelle GT and Excelle GX (a wagon), this small sedan is a special model for the local market built by SAIC GM. It was announced by GM China in May 2018. This is its motor show debut.
Some had expected this to be one of the first vehicles for General Motors’ VSS-F architecture. This is the company’s supposed one platform for front-wheel drive (and all-wheel drive) vehicles. VSS stands for Vehicle Set Strategy. However, GM has another FWD platform and this is for lower income countries. The Excelle is thought to be the first model to use [the] Global Emerging Markets [architecture] or GEM for short, as developed by General Motors and SAIC.
Cadillac XT4
More or less the same as the rest of the world’s model, the obvious main external difference being the SAIC GM badging on the tailgate. For the moment at least, there is no extended XT4, China’s car being the same length (4,599mm) as the model manufactured in Kansas City.
Chevrolet Orlando
Unlike the Orlando manufactured by GM Korea for more than eight years between early 2020 and mid-2018, the new model is to be built – initially at least – in China. Production will be by the SAIC GM joint venture. The other major difference compared to the previous vehicle is the change in body style from minivan/MPV to crossover.
Ford Territory
Smaller than the old-shape model which was built solely in Australia between 2004 and 2016, the new Territory, which is also an SUV, will be manufactured by Ford and Jiangling Motors Corporation. This will take place at the latter’s Xiaolan/Xiao Lan plant in Jiangxi. Sales are due to commence during the first quarter of 2019.
Ford claims that the Territory is a new model but it looks a lot like the Land Wind Yusheng S330, a 4.6m long SUV which JMC began selling in China during June 2016.
GAC iX4
Toyota is doing something unusual so as to be in compliance with China’s strict regulations for selling so-called New Energy Vehicles: selling a GAC Auto model via its own sales channels. Like rival OEMs, Toyota’s NEVs must make up 10 per cent of its sales by 2019. An NEV is defined by the Chinese government as an EV or a PHEV. The level of 10 per cent of manufacturers’ fleet being NEVs by 2019 rises to 12 per cent in 2020.
The ix4, an SUV, was displayed in prototype form at the Beijing motor show in April. The production model followed at the Chengdu show.
The fully electric ix4 is based on Guangzhou Auto’s Trumpchi GS4. It is manufactured by the Guangzhou Toyota joint venture and branded as a Guangzhou.
Hanteng X7 PHEV
The plug-in hybrid version of the two year old X7 has a claimed output of 180hp from the combined power of a 1.8-litre petrol engine and one motor.
Haval H2 facelift
The small SUV has been available since 2014 so an update was almost overdue. Great Wall has split the range into Blue Label and Red Label derivatives each having bespoke frontal styling. There are no changes for the standard 110kW (150PS) 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine.
Honda Inspire
This sedan will be a new model for the Dongfeng Honda joint venture. GAC Honda has the Accord, so this is a car closely linked to that model for Honda’s other JV partner. The standard engine is expected to be a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo, while a PHEV will likely be added later.
Honda XR-V facelift
There are two versions of the B segment SUV in China which in certain other countries is called Honda HR-V. The Vezel, manufactured by the Guangqi Honda joint venture, was the first to appear. This was announced at April 2014’s Beijing motor show. Four months later, Dongfeng Honda revealed a modified version, the Honda XR-V, at the Chengdu motor show. The Vezel went on sale in China in October 2014, with the XR-V following the next month.
Hyundai Celesta wagon
A surprise debutante for the Beijing Hyundai JV. The five-door Celesta is a five-door hatchback/wagon will go after the same buyers who find the estate version of China’s best selling vehicle (VW Gran Lavida) so appealing.
Hyundai Tucson facelift
The changes are different to those for the rest of the world’s Tucson: Beijing Hyundai has given this SUV a brutal looking front end.
Kia KX3 facelift
Built only in China and based on the Hyundai ix25, Dongfeng Yueda Kia’s KX3 is a 4,260mm long crossover. Production commenced in February 2015 and sales the following month. This is its first update.
Lynk & Co 03
Revealed in concept form at April 2017’s Auto Shanghai, the third model from Geely’s hugely successful new division is a 4,639mm long sedan. The first engine will be Geely-VCC’s 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol turbo, with the same PHEV powertrain which became available in the 01 during July 2018 to be added by year-end. Production of the 03 will take place at the Luqiao District plant in Taizhou.
Maxus EG10
The plug-in version of SAIC’s Maxus G10 passenger van has finally reached production. It was revealed in prototype form back in June 2015. The claimed range has improved since then though, now said to be up to 300km. In some markets, Maxus models are sold under the LDV brand.
MG HS
This SUV will be positioned in the range above the GS and in China, the HS will be a rival for the Haval H8, Ford Edge and others in the segment. The new model is based on SAIC’s Roewe RX5 and therefore uses SAIC’s SSA platform. The first variants will be powered by the choice of turbocharged 170hp 1.5- or 220hp 2.0-litre petrol engines with drive going to the front wheels only. An electrified powertrain will surely follow in 2019, bringing with it e-AWD.
Ora iQ
This 4.4m long crossover is the first model for Great Wall Motor‘s electric vehicles brand. Two smaller cars will be added to the range during 2019. All three were seen earlier this year in prototype form at the Beijing motor show. The Chengdu event is the public premiere for the series production iQ, with the first orders also being taken at the show. GWM says all Ora models will be priced below CNY100,000 and aimed at customers in larger Chinese cities.
Porsche Macan facelift
Official details were announced to the media on 25 July. It has taken almost five years for Porsche to facelift its best seller. The main styling adjustment is linking the rear end of the car to other Porsches via a long strip of tail lights, while on the inside there is a now an 11-inch infotainment touchsceen.
Rolls-Royce Phantom EW Privacy Suite
A new option which consists of electrochromatic glass to keep private what goes on in the rear cabin from view, while “A frequency-specific compound inhibits the transmission of conversations in the rear cabin to the front cabin”.
Roewe i5
This 4.6m long sedan will be available mainly in the Chinese market. It is closely related to the iE5 although that model, which is an electric wagon, does not offer the i5’s petrol engine. The platform is GM’s Global Delta which SAIC obtains access to via a JV.
Škoda Kodiaq GT
The Vision E, an electric concept which debuted at the 2017 Shanghai motor show, offered a preview of the Kodiaq GT’s looks. The new SUV is more curved in its styling than the Kodiaq, while another bespoke touch is Š K O D A in large letters across the tailgate instead of the usual logo.
This model is yet another part of Skoda’s ambitious goal to be building and selling 1,500,000 vehicles a year by 2020. SAIC Volkswagen will build the second Kodiaq body style but the car is yet to be confirmed for Europe. Kvasiny would be the logical place to manufacture it but the Czech plant doesn’t have a lot of spare capacity due to the ever rising success of the other models made there.
SouEast A5
C segment sedan likely to be the replacement for the Mitsubishi Lancer-based V5 Lingzhi which dates to 2012. A5 is a prototype but a production model is promised for a sales launch during the fourth quarter.
Volkswagen Lamando facelift
Also known as the Ling Du, the Lamando premiered at the Chengdu show four years ago.
Volkswagen Passat
The successor for North America and China’s Passat sedan will use the MQB A/B architecture. SAIC Volkswagen will begin building the new car by year-end. Sources claim that the sedan is 4,933mm long, which would make it even bigger than the current US- and China-built model. In China at least, the model name will be picked out in capitals across the middle of the bootlid below the VW badge.
Volkswagen of America confirmed ‘2019’ as the date for the next model’s arrival in an announcement at the 2018 Detroit auto show.
The strategy of having two Passats – one for China and North America and one for the rest of the world – looks set to continue. Making the new sedan so large probably means that FAW Volkswagen will be given a version of Europe’s next Passat sized to fit below Shanghai VW’s larger model. That car is still some years away as Volkswagen is yet to give the German-made sedan and estate line-up a mid-life facelift. That will happen soon, though, which should mean a new Passat for European countries will appear in 2022.
Volkswagen Tiguan L PHEV
Petrol-electric powertrain for SAIC Volkswagen’s Tiguan. This consists of a 1.4-litre petrol engine and one motor. Production is due to commence during the fourth quarter.
Yema C60
A C-segment SUV which the company says it will begin selling during the fourth quarter.
Yema T80 facelift
This SUV was, at the time of its Chinese market release in April 2017, the brand’s largest SUV yet. It premiered at the Chengdu motor show in September 2016. The five-seater T80 is 4,650mm long and while it has the looks of an SUV, drive is the front wheels only.
Future product program intelligence
Additional data on vehicle lifetime and future product plans, such as code names, production plants and expected annual build, are available in PLDB from QUBE.
