Yet another electric SUV from China could soon be in local showrooms, with the Deepal S07 receiving approval to go on sale in Australia. Government documents show the Deepal S07 has been approved in a single guise, which follows an example of the electric vehicle (EV) being photographed in Sydney a month ago . Made by Chinese state-owned manufacturer Changan – reportedly jointly developed with Huawei and CATL – the Deepal S07 is offered in its home market both as a fully electric SUV or a range-extender EV, though it’s only the former which has been given the green light here.
While Chinese market examples are powered by a rear-mounted electric motor producing 99kW and 320Nm, the documents show the S07 will have a 160kW motor in Australia. A 66.8kWh Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) is standard in China, providing more than 500km of driving range on the lenient CLTC test cycle – however this is unlikely to be the case in Australia due to the higher-power electric motor and our more stringent range tests.
Reports from China have also indicated a larger 79.97kWh battery pack is (or will be) available for the S07, but this is yet to be officially announced. Measuring 4750mm long (on a 2900mm wheelbase), 1930mm wide, and 1625mm tall, it’s the same length and height as a Tesla Model Y, but slightly narrower.
Weighing 2073kg, the S07 has approved braked and unbraked towing capacities of 1500kg and 750kg, respectively. The former figure is 100kg less than the Model Y. Additional information in the government documents shows the S07 has only been approved with 20-inch wheels, despite the spied example sporting a smaller and different design than what’s been shown in press materials.
In China, the safety equipment list includes adaptive cruise control with stop/go, forward collision warning and autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist and lane departure warning, and traffic jam assist, as well as blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert with braking, driver fatigue monitoring, and auto high-beam lights. The cabin is equipped with a head-up display with augmented reality navigation, a 15.6-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth, a 14-speaker sound system with driver headrest speaker, a wireless phone charger, ambient lighting, gesture control, online music and navigation, and over-the-air updates.
While the S07 is Changan’s first model approved for sale in Australia, Deepal is understood to be preparing the G318 – a ladder-frame chassis off-roader – for right-hand drive markets such as the UK. It’s expected the G318 will borrow the S07’s electric and range-extender drivetrains. MORE: Another Chinese challenger brand spied testing in Australia MORE: China’s Changan heading to Australia, electrified Toyota Prado rival likely.
