U.S. renowned car website reviews Chinese vehicles: Now the pressure is on us
The U.S. renowned automotive website Edmunds has recently conducted a systematic evaluation of a Chinese vehicle model for the first time, and their conclusion is quite straightforward: American automakers indeed have good reason to be concerned.
According to a report by Reuters on April 3, despite high tariffs and multiple restrictions imposed by the U.S. on Chinese automobiles, Edmunds still decided to "make an exception" to evaluate a Chinese model—mainly because American consumers are increasingly interested in affordable, feature-rich Chinese cars.
The tested vehicle is the Geely Galaxy M9, a plug-in hybrid SUV with a starting price of approximately $25,000 in China. Alistair Weaver, editor-in-chief of the Edmunds website, praised the car after test-driving it at a Los Angeles testing facility, saying many of its features "are ahead of what we currently drive in the U.S.", and that "its technological performance is impressive."
Weaver explained that they obtained the opportunity to test the vehicle after connecting with Geely executives during this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Although new Chinese cars cannot be imported into the U.S. for sale, they can be legally borrowed for testing or driven on American roads.
The evaluation team conducted comprehensive performance tests on the Galaxy M9, including range, acceleration, braking, and more. They also drove the vehicle continuously under daily-use scenarios for about three weeks and completed as many as 227 assessments covering performance and functionality.
The results show that this three-row SUV performs comparably to models priced roughly twice as much, such as the Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride, and Toyota Highlander. Edmunds even believes that even if the vehicle were priced double in the U.S. market, it would still be competitive.
The Galaxy M9 is equipped with a 30-inch infotainment screen. Edmunds found that its response speed matches that of Tesla’s screens. In addition to core tech features, the M9 offers several common extras found in Chinese vehicles: built-in refrigerator, external speakers, and a foldable entertainment screen for the second row.
This plug-in hybrid SUV has a combined driving range of approximately 808 miles (about 1,300 kilometers), surpassing the expected range of upcoming U.S.-market counterparts.
Typically, such plug-in hybrid vehicles are equipped with large-capacity batteries enabling them to operate like pure electric vehicles, while also featuring a small gasoline engine primarily used as a generator to charge the battery. According to Edmunds’ testing, the M9 can travel about 100 miles in pure electric mode before the generator kicks in. For years, Chinese automakers have been deeply investing in extended-range hybrid technology, whereas multinational companies like Ford and Stellantis are only now planning to launch similar products in the U.S.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1861513671776458/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.