BEIJING (Engine): The luxury SUV was showcased at the Beijing Auto Show on Thursday.
It will be launched in Norway in the autumn.
– It is simply a fantastic car, says Frode Skaar-Ottesen of the importing company Autoisme, which imports Seres to Norway.
The price level is too high for the car to become a big seller. Detailed prices are not clear, but there is reason to assume it will end up close to NOK 900,000.
– I think the time when everyone could buy an electric car for 900,000 is over, says Skaar-Ottesen, and adds:
– But it will be a brand builder for us.
800 V charging
The car comes with a rich standard specification: Noise isolation, air suspension, head-up display, panoramic roof, ventilated seats and massage in the first and second row as standard.
Carefully inspired by the large screen in the BMW i7, it will have a cinema screen between the first and second row, and the film can be projected onto a wall when the car is parked.
KLAR FOR KINO: I Seres 9 får du et kinolerrett senket ned bak første seterad." alt="" />The car is 523 cm long – and comes with five, six or seven seats.
European WLTP figures are not clear, but it is designed with 800 v charging.
The first model in the Norwegian market was the all-electric compact SUV Seres 5, the next out is the plug-in hybrid Seres 7.
– We will bring it into Norway, but as a plug-in hybrid it is unlikely to sell well – even with a 150 km electric range, says Skaar-Ottesen.
Automated
Seres is one of the few Chinese manufacturers that has seen significant growth in market value over the past year, and Skaar-Ottesen believes the brand is positioned for good industrial growth.
– They construct the cars on two different platforms, and 85 per cent of the components will be divisible across models and platforms. It will lower production costs and facilitate the logistics of spare parts and not least during production. Seres is now preparing for five modern factories. The largest has a production rate of 120 cars per hour when it is running at full blast, i.e. one car every 30 seconds, he says.
– All key processes are almost 100 per cent automated, concludes Skaar-Ottesen.
Three more to come
Like several of the other Chinese manufacturers, Seres has set up a parts warehouse for the European markets in the Netherlands, which will solve the challenges of long delivery times for parts in the aftermarket.
The brand has three new models for launch over the next two years:
The compact SUV Seres 3 towards the end of 2025, Seres 8 late in 2025, and then Seres 6 at the turn of 2025/26.
PS: Seres is in the same group as DFSK, but these cars will not be launched for sale in Norway.
