Ho Wah Genting (HWGB) has announced plans to introduce an all-electric vehicle called the Seiyong S1 in Malaysia. Introduced in its domestic market in December 2019, the Chinese hatchback from Beijing-based Seiyong Motor will be sold here in locally-assembled form. It was however not revealed when the car would make its official debut, and how much it would cost.
According to specs from the automaker’s website, the four-seater measures in at 3,720 mm long, 1,640 mm wide and 1,494 mm tall, and has a 2,390 mm-long wheelbase. Tipping the scales at 1,115 kg, the Seiyong S1 features an electric motor offering 35 kw (47 hp) and 150 Nm in the way of output.
A 31.9 kWh lithium battery provides a claimed range of 302 km on a single charge, based on a NEDC cycle. Charging-related specifics aren’t detailed beyond the automaker saying that the battery can be juiced up from a 30% SOC to 80% in around 40-50 minutes via fast charging, and that regular charging will get the battery to full in around 10 hours. Other performance specs include a 110 km/h top speed.
In its home market, the S1 – which is dubbed the Little Bee by its maker – is available in three variant guises, priced from 70,000 to 90,000 Yuan (RM44,300 to RM57,000). All ride on 15-inch wheels and 175/60 profile tyres. While the lower spec variant comes with rear drum brakes, the top-spec variant gets disc brakes all around.
It looks fairly well equipped at the top end of things – the range-topping variant comes with a head-up display, eight-inch touchscreen with voice recognition (Mandarin only) and a single-zone auto climate system. Also on, keyless entry and push-start ignition and auto headlamps, and there’s a phone app that allows some of the car’s features to be accessed remotely.
Based on those specs, HWGB is very much targeting the S1 as a city commuter, suitable for a variety of consumers ranging from housewives and college students to white-collar workers looking for a small runabout.
According to HWGB CEO Datuk Aaron Lim, the local EV scene is still in its infancy, and as such the company believes that the Seiyong S1 will be able to help push things along. “We firmly believe the EV industry is a fast growing industry in Malaysia with a lot of untapped potential. As the public environmental concerns are higher than ever before, we hope to provide and encourage a greener mode of transportation in Malaysia,” he said.
“The innovative development strategy of Seiyong Motor has demonstrated that it has a strong market expansion plan and its core competitiveness is one of the factors to its success. In the next three to five years, we believe that Seiyong Motor will eventually be a key player in the global electric vehicle industry with the Seiyong S1,” he added.
When it arrives, the S1 will be marketed through HWGB’s wholly-owned subsidiary, HWGB EV, which will also assemble the model – and subsequent offerings from the brand – in the country. In the MoU that was signed between HWGB EV and Seiyong Motor last week, it was also revealed that the S1 is likely to be sold under a new brand name, which will be collectively decided in the near future by HWGB EV and Seiyong Motor.
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Impressive EV from RM44,300 to RM57,000 only.
Question, can it climb up to Genting hill top?
Fossil Cars = Game Over
Phasing out in 5-10 years
Scrap program for cars older than 20 yrs also cannot jalan, how to game over everything within a decade kawan. Price of vehicles here after tax just doesn’t allow us to have that luxury. Suck it up
Peppur question, can it survived 180kmh crash?
Great Binyue X50 at China also 79k yuan starts, hehehe
Come here X50 RM79k start….
Look at Geely Binyue price.. and the equivalent Proton X70 here. Any similarities?
Anwer is NO. And govt would never allow Any direct competition towards p1 and p2. Get it?
we want Wuling Mini EV
for that same price, better genting to rebadge Nio ET7…
Maybe,
pls tell me 1 good reason why this over myvi
drive to pejabat & charge for free. saved rm100/week
Nothing is ever free, my friend.
Ask how many Malaysians would like to pay RM15 for a full tank vs RM60 for a full tank. You’ll get your answer.
Nobrainer. Of course would choose the RM15 for a full tank… in an ICE car. Paying RM60 to charge my car is ridiculous.
I cant believe this needs an explanation, RM15 for a full tank can only be obtained from a EV car. That’s the point. It wouldn’t even cost a Porsche Taycan Turbo RM60 for a full tank.
You may have a point, but with current electricity rates you’re not going to get Rm15
Ikw charge cost approx 40sen.So 35 kw charge cost RM14.Can go to 300km.
So which is better ice or electric.?
This analysis is a little simplistic. Let’s look at a real-life scenario. For the past 15 years, my car has traveled less than 60k kilometers. Assuming average fuel consumption of 0.18 MYR / kilometer, the total cost of fuel is 10800 MYR. If it were can EV, the assumption is that the cost of electricity would have been 2700 MYR. The big question is, does an equivalent EV cost only a few k more than my car? Highly unlikely. Most likely tens of k more. So, is it cheaper to use an EV? Absolutely not. It is much more expensive.
I think you’re forgetting the cost of maintenance over time.
The most obvious differences between the two types of cars may lie in the engine, transmission and exhaust systems. These systems are some of the cheapest to maintain, and they rarely breakdown. The most expensive parts to maintain are the electronics, electrical items and mechanical parts, and both types of cars share the same parts, so the same costs. EVs have big batteries, which evolve very fast and have may require at least one change during the lifetime of the car. The cost is expected to be higher than that of non-EVs (due to eg 10 years later, new cheaper batteries are no longer compatible with the car, and compatible batteries are produced in very small volumes, therefore very expensive).
it has a top speed of only 110kph. the 300km range is probably only by potting around in 60-70kph. most container trucks and busses speed on the roads way above that. it would be a scary drive in one of these.
Save fuel, 0L/100km
Nice, can wait this to be second car….
The face looks so ‘sei yong’ (in Cantonese)
Most Klang Valley folks stay in apartments. How to charge? Public charging stations are virtually none existent. I wouldn’t buy one, even if going cheap.
Qi wireless charging the smart way to go.
Most Klang Valley folks stay in apartments. How to charge? Public charging stations are virtually none existent. I wouldn’t buy one, even if going cheap.
Aren’t we a nation of bundled and long-ranged power extensions? Just plug in your charger via one of those to whatever floor you’re in
Great and beautiful for such price. Our country welcome this vehicle
Apparently no one in the whole of Southeast Asia has ever heard of either JMEV or the JMEV EV3, formerly E300.
Beijing-based Seiyong Automobile Co., Ltd. (世用汽车, Chinese shiyong) owned by one Lu Jianhao alias Lu Xingjian, entered into an agreement with JMEV in September 2019 for supply of the EV3 to be sold under their own brand as Seiyong S1.
JMEV is a joint venture headquartered in Nanchang, China, and owned by Groupe Renault (as a majority holder), Jiangling Motors Corporation Group (JMCG) and China Agricultural Development Construction Fund Corporation. JMEV is focused on the development and production of electric cars and was established in 2015 as a subsidiary of JMCG. It was reorganised as a joint venture in July 2019, after Renault acquired a majority stake.
Some years back, a local company tried to launch a cheap China BAIC EV here… so what happened to those plans ? More recently, another company tried to sell a ‘cute’ China EV here, but later it was revealed to be a scam or something. So tbh, I’m not going to hold my breath for some unknown China EV from some unknown local company in Malaysia. Better just wait for the real deal from the big local players.
Unlike Berjaya Group, Genting Group has little experience in the auto industry, and right now, they are gambling big time by venturing into the untested EV market. But as we know, the words ‘Genting’ and ‘Gambling’ go hand in hand… so let’s see if Genting’s EV gamble pays off in another 2 or 3 years time… I wish them good luck.
Maybe free hotel stay for a month if you buy their car.
As much as I like to see these things here, this is unfortunately going to flop big time.
It’s not going to be a highway capable car. Being a city car, it is most at home in a big city but unfortunately people in a big city live in high-rises or apartments with no charging infra.
Besides that’s as much as the Ativa and Myvi.
How about previous Proton electric car plans ?
Not a huge gamble also ?
Protong fellas busy designing new grill for the so call Proton EV car
Hopefully this will change the perception of EV cars in Malaysia.
surprise surprise!
This is how people work. Unlike some brand pang pung pang pung, sampai skrang satu habuk pun takda.
Perodua, i m looking at you…
Orang cakap Proton lah ngok
This is definitely an A segment car by the wheelbase of 2390mm. Yeah..suitable as city car. Second car. But wont be sufficient as grab cars or for those who needs a car for work and socialising around. Say.. a weekend trip to Ipoh or Penang.. or down south.
GG lah myvi…
the biggest question is can naik Genting or not?
ewww no China brand
Proton X50 also China 3 cylinder cars..
Proton x70 get China 4 cylinders tgdi
You may not like it but people are going bonkers over the Proton X70 and X50 which essentially is a Chinese car packaged as a Malaysian car. But I do understand it, from a branding point of view, it is not something we are familiar with and have trust issues.
I used to despise Huawei phones because like you ewww China Brand, but look at it today. Heck, I’m owning one and feel that it is cheaper and performs as good as other bigger brands.
The problem of EV in Malaysia……….too little charging points. Ministers pun do very little about it.
How to sell and promote EV if basic infrastructure for charging pun susah?
Does its interior come with a casino roulette wheel & table?
Ain’t bad for a city car.
Looks like a nissan
And Malaysia tell us they didn’t earn money. We all know they feed all the Malaysia’s stupid Datos
Looke impressive