Huawei Seres SF5 debuts at Auto Shanghai – range-extended EV crossover with up to 1,000 km range - Latest Car News, Bike news & Reviews, Auto News

Huawei, a company better known for its smartphones and other electrical devices, has revealed its first vehicle at the ongoing Auto Shanghai called the Seres Huawei Smart Selection SF5. Developed in collaboration with California-based company Seres, the range-extended crossover is now available for booking via Huawei’s Vmall e-commerce platform with a fee of 1,000 yuan (RM633).

Starting from April 21, customers will be able to test drive the SF5 at Huawei Experience Stores in China and decide if they want to follow through on the purchase. Referring to the company’s website, the crossover will be offered in two variants, including a cheaper, single-motor option that is priced at 216,800 yuan (RM137,287) as well as a dual-motor variant retailing at 246,800 yuan (RM156,334).

Design-wise, Huawei’s SF5 looks almost identical to the original SF5 that Seres presented in 2019, both inside and out, although the latter now sees additional ventilation holes on the front bumper. The car still sports sweptback headlamps, L-shaped daytime running lights, flush-mounted door handles, a wing-shaped window line, sloping roof and wraparound taillights linked by a light bar.

Likewise, the dimensions are the same too, with the new SF5 measuring 4,700 mm long, 1,930 mm wide and 1,625 mm tall, with a wheelbase that spans 2,875 mm.

Inside, the minimalistic dashboard features wide-width air vents that are interrupted by a large, portrait-format central touchscreen that provides access to all vehicle functions, along with a digital instrument cluster. The centre console is equally devoid of items, with just a storage cubby, while the gear selector is placed just ahead of the front armrest.

While the design is largely untouched, Huawei did have a hand in developing the technologies found in the SF5, starting with the powertrain. The setup includes a 1.5 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that acts as a range extended to recharge the battery.

Said battery powers a SEP200 asynchronous electric motor at the front, while the rear uses Huawei’s DriveOne all-in-one electric drive system. The latter integrates seven mechanical and power components into a single unit, including the micro control unit, motor, reducer, DC converter, on-board charger, power distribution unit and battery control unit.

The dual-motor, all-wheel drive configuration provides a total system output of 551 PS (543 hp or 405 kW) and 820 Nm of torque, which is good for a zero to 100 km/h time of approximately 4.7 seconds. A lesser sprint from a rest to 50 km/h will take about 50 km/h, the company adds.

Huawei didn’t provide detailed information about the battery in the SF5, but it did say that the vehicle will provide an all-electric range of up to 180 km following the NEDC, and up to 1,000 km with the range extender engine factored in. If needed, the battery can also be used to power devices like televisions and even charge other electric vehicles. Unfortunately, details like charging times or how the single-motor variant is configured are not made known on the product page for now.

The large touchscreen inside is linked to Huawei’s HiCar system, which is the company’s own take on a connected ecosystem like what Apple and Google offer. With it, users can link their smartphone to the car and have all their preferences synced up, as well as control smart devices directly from the touchscreen.

Additionally, the SF5 features the Huawei Sound system, with 11 speakers positioned in the cabin to deliver a “theater-grade” experience. Those speakers also help to suppress unwanted noise from the outside and work with the double-layer soundproof glass and other damping features to keep NVH down – it idles at just 38 decibels.

For safety, the SF5 is equipped with a high-precision millimeter-wave radar, an ultrasonic radar, a surround view camera and other sensors to enable Level 2 autonomous features. It comes standard with traffic jam assist, adaptive cruise control, front collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane centering and more.