Just like an unbeaten football side that chalks up victory after victory, you keep waiting for something that will knock the Chinese electric carmakers off their surging runs up the sales charts.
But so far, they (well most of them) are defying the odds and relishing the challenge of winning more buyers from established brands. They are steadily picking up sales.
Like a well-managed team, they also appear to have a way of making the most of the lucky breaks coming their way. In the current scenario that means capitalising on shifts and trends in the market place – the dramatic fall-off in Tesla sales in Europe being one example.
And it seems as if there is a new arrival every week, hungry for conquest. Of course, bringing in more cars doesn’t guarantee sales; it only serves to make the marketplace even more competitive. Which is good news for consumers.
It was recently announced that Gowan Auto has been appointed national importer for Leapmotor electric vehicles. The new brand will go on sale here from September. It’s a joint venture partnership between global giant Stellantis and Leapmotor China and will bring even more edge to the game.
However, it’s a long road that has no turn and there’s no doubting the Chinese will face ever tougher competition within themselves – and from more traditional brands who are fighting back with some really impressive products.
It all helps to bring sharper focus on design, technology, range, room, performance and especially price.
This week it’s the turn of the electric BYD Sealion 7, a larger-than-average compact SUV, to add to the growing ranks of Chinese EVs on the market.
This is slightly longer and taller than BYD Seal stablemate that has been well received. The new, slightly larger Sealion 7 is 4,830mm long, 1,925 wide and 1,620mm tall with a 2,930mm wheelbase.
Direct competitors include the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
One of the areas that makes this a bit different to the other BYD I’ve mentioned is that there is more emphasis on design and performance.
There are three distinct models and two battery sizes (82.5kWh and 91.3kWh).
The line-up starts with Comfort on 19ins wheels, which is rear-wheel-driven, has the 82.5kWh battery and goes from a standing start to 100kmh in 7.3 seconds. And they claim it can cover up to 482kms between charges. It generates an output of 230kW (313hp) and costs from €45,435.
The Design models have All-Wheel-Drive, the 82.5kWh battery, and a claimed range of 456km. It starts from €52,390. This set-up is capable of delivering 390kW and, can – they say – accelerate to 100kmh in 4.5 seconds. It has 20ins wheels.
The larger-battery model (91.5kWh) comes only with the range topper Excellence guise which has a range of 502kms, but the same acceleration times and power as the Design. With 20ins wheels, it costs from €56,490.
My test-drive Design looked best from the front. It is graphically striking with its sharp, sturdily-drawn grille. The rest of the car could be described as a typical compact construct of the genre: tall-ish, large tracts of largely undisturbed metal down the flanks, sweeping upwards and culminating in a tailgate flanked by prominent light cluster.
And it is all the better for its 20ins wheels; they give a more proportionate look to the profile.
You are probably fed-up of hearing how electric cars have all their power and torque available from the get-go, unlike fossil-fuelled vehicles that have wait a while longer to wind-up the engine.
This is particularly the case with the Sealion 7. Its claimed ability to hit 100kmh in just 4.5 seconds should have you licking your lips in anticipation. It goes like hell but does so without any fanfare, whereas we’d be all primed to go agog with jaws on our chins if we were sitting at the wheel of a performance BMW 3-series, or Audi S5 or Jaguar F-TYPE to name just a few from a wide selection of the expensive 4.5-seconds’ club.
And I think that’s what BYD is trying to do with this latest model: project what a reasonably priced, mid-sized compact motor can do when it comes to what we can loosely call ‘performance’.
The figures don’t lie. Electric cars across the board can zip from zero to 100kmh quicker than their equivalent-size models with internal combustion engines (ICEs). I don’t think the Sealion 7 will raise the hairs on the back of your neck as you might expect from such acceleration but it certainly ticks the box on straight-line performance. I think it is down to how the chassis and steering transmit the dynamics at play but I wanted to savour more than the sense of movement it gave me.
At the same time, you have to recognise that the Sealion 7 is able to approximate, if not emulate, performance-car dynamics for maybe half the price, or less, of an ICE sports-drive counterpart. What they lack by way of driving verve and handling (the suspension was a bit jittery over small cracks and bumps around the 100kmh mark), they at least make up for with the major consideration of price.
And the thing is: how many electric family SUV drivers would be bothered attempting to reach 100kmh or anything approaching it. They might for the first day or two of ownership push on a bit but soon realise there are things called penalty points and fuel consumption gauges that will send their reserves plummeting if you drive erratically or fast.
They also have to pay heed to how such driving could impact those on board: young children, especially those prone to car-sickness.
Somewhere between the two extremes lies the Sealion 7. Obviously BYD think there are enough people who like to have the mix of the practical and performance: a bit like owning a Volkswagen Golf GTi which can serve as family hatch and a sports machine when the opportunity presents itself.
At the end of the day, my test car was at its best when silently cruising on good roads at moderate speed.
The range of 456km was well above what I got over a lot of driving and was a bit disappointing.
But take away the emphasis on design and performance and you still have an impressive car awaiting your delectation. The cabin is both smart and comfortable, displays are clear and large, seats are excellent and there is ample room at the back. Head, knee and leg room are well above average and there’s a sizeable boot of 520 litres.
One thing the Chinese makes are good at is packing in a lot of equipment and this is no exception. It ranges from latest driver aids to comfort technology.
This is well worth a test drive. BYD have got a taste of winning and like the unbeaten football side they seem well positioned to put rivals under pressure.
