The global auto industry has seen its share of electric luxury cars from the Far East, but many of them seem to be lacking substance: The start-ups are coming and going, and some of the concept cars are clearly falling short too. Now Qoros is showing a fully electric luxury concept, and it has one thing going for it: It is a fully established brand, with a track record of delivering. Qoros is a new automotive brand formed as a joint venture between Chery and an Israeli investor. It launched in 2013 with a series of European developed and designed, locally built cars. A lot of the tech is developed with European suppliers, and the cars stand out for their distinct styling language. Qoros Design is led by former Mini chief designer Gert Hildebrand. So it is not a Chinese brand in that sense, but its models compete in the near premium segment in the Chinese market. They are available with naturally aspirated and turbocharged four-cylinder engines. The big USP of its models has been the user interface with swiping functionalities that is especially forward looking.
Qoros K EV - Rear
Compared to other Chinese cars, the Qoros models are distinguished by their unique and consistent, Euro-inspired design language. The new K EV is the brand's boldest and most aggressive design by far. The fully electric concept will be launching at the Shanghai Auto show this week. The name - K EV sees the K alluding to Koenigsegg, Qoros' cooperation partner for the Qamfree engine technology, as well as a potential supplier for the power electronics. EV needs no explanation and is no surprise given the focus most manufacturers (especially the Chinese) have on electric vehicles these days.
5113 mm long and fitted with four electric motors rated at a combined 870 horsepower, the Qoros K EV directly targets the Tesla Model S and the hybrid versions of the Porsche Panamera. It's worth mentioning that the concept cars by Lucid, Nio and Faraday Future are similarly sized. The Qoros is fast: The sprint from 0 to 100 kmph takes 'less than 2.7 seconds' according to Qoros, and the car's top speed is governed at 261 kmph.
Qoros K EV - Rear Quarter Top View
With a low centre of gravity and a torque vectoring system, the K EV should offer superb road holding capabilities. The battery pack holds enough juice for well over 480 kilometres. And the Qoros comes with an inductive charging system, but conductive charging is possible as well, and it can be remote controlled.
Qoros K EV - Profile
Apart from the powertrain technology, the Qoros K EV is fitted with a number of forward-looking technologies that set it apart from anything else in it segment. Its passenger cell is encompassed with an extremely stiff carbon-fibre monocoque, and there is an asymmetrical door concept with a left gullwing door and rear sliding doors. Qoros partnered with the specialist company KDX/C, which is located in Beijing and Munich.
Qoros K EV - Dashboard
The aggressive and expressive styling language visualizes these technologies perfectly: The centre section is transparent and opens up views of the carbon structure; the additive front and rear elements and the fenders seem to float in the air. The LED head- and taillights take the vertical styling language that was launched with the Qoros 2 PHEV to the next level. The car is laying technology bare; the semi-open hinges and the "bubbles" above the rear seats serve a function, and they bring a fighter jet aesthetic to the K EV. The interior is sporty, but it is devoid of any utopian effects that would suggest anything resembling Stage 5 autonomous driving functions.
Most Chinese luxury concepts are characterised by soothing and flowing lines - and an almost ascetic styling language. The Qoros K EV, by contrast, resembles the extravagant and provocative concepts launched by Italian coachbuilders in the 1970s and 1980s. Ideally, it will send a similar message to a design community that seems to be rather stagnant.
Qoros K EV - Seats
The combination of aggressive design and a high-performance powertrain may be closer to series production than it seems: A few days ago, Qoros announced a strategic partnership with the Yibin region, which will funnel over 700 million towards Qoros. At the Guangzhou auto show in November, we expect to see a fully functional prototype EV. While these are all notions of fantasy for us in India at this time, the change could come quickly. If Tesla is serious about coming to India in a hurry, Lexus' hybrids take off, and Nissan does bring us the Leaf next year, electric cars could become hot commodity soon. The Chinese - especially Qoros would not hesitate to cash in on any opportunity that India may provide in that scenario.
