TQ Wuling Huajing S teased for KLIMS – 6-seat PHEV co-developed with Huawei, 255 km CLTC EV range

Having entered the electric city car segment with the Bingo, TQ Wuling is set to go in completely the opposite direction with the Huajing S, sold under the (slightly) more upmarket Baojun marque in China. The company teased a Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show (KLIMS) appearance for the flagship three-row premium SUV, which will almost certainly use a different name when it eventually gets launched here.

Revealed at the Auto China show in Beijing in April, the Huajing S is a joint development between SAIC-GM-Wuling and Huawei – hence the “Hua” in the name. The tech giant has played a significant role in the car’s design as part of the Huawei Inside (HI) Plus model, so it’s no surprise that it bears a slight resemblance to the original Aito M7, developed under the even more involved Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA).

That much is visible through the visor-like front end, which on the Huajing S incorporates the headlights and a striking lightning-shaped full-width light bar. This sits above a large hexagonal lower grille and vertical corner air inlets, joined together by a large U-shaped chrome bar.

Meanwhile, the side profile is dominated by a hockey stick-like swage line that incorporates the front fender appliqués. The D-pillars are fairly upright, befitting the car’s status as a posher model, while the full-width taillights mirror the front’s lightning graphic.

Standing in contrast to the bijou Bingo, the Huajing S is a massive SUV, measuring 5,235 mm long, 1,999 mm wide and 1,800 mm tall with a 3,105 mm wheelbase. That makes it a whopping 415 mm longer than the already sizeable Jaecoo J8 and even the new Denza B8.

Inside, the Huajing S features a cookie-cutter Chinese car interior, with a minimalist dashboard, big screens and twin smartphone holders. As befits a Huawei-developed model, there’s plenty of tech on board, with the 8.8-inch instrument display and 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen both running on HarmonySpace 5, the automotive version of the firm’s in-house HarmonyOS 5 software.

Also fitted as standard is Huawei Qiankun ADS Pro, a suite of driver assists that uses the Limera (lidar and camera) array at the top of the windscreen to deliver highly-automated highway and city driving and remote park assist with an automated valet function. Don’t expect this to make it to Malaysia, however.

Other features include a 50-watt Qi wireless charger, a 15-speaker Infinity sound system and dual sunroofs. The Huajing S is a strict five-seater with power-adjustable second-row captain’s chairs and is available with heating, ventilation and massage functions on the first two rows, a built-in second-row ottoman, a heated and cooled refrigerator and a 15.6-inch rear roof monitor. Thanks to the generous length, the car offers 423 litres of boot space even with all six seats up.

Power comes from a single front electric motor producing 272 PS (200 kW) and 310 Nm of torque, with an available dual-motor all-wheel-drive version pushing out a sum total of 525 PS (386 kW) and 620 Nm. This is paired with a 143 PS/220 Nm 1.5 litre turbo four-cylinder engine and a single-speed dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT).

The motors are juiced by a choice of two LFP batteries – a 31 kWh unit in the base FWD model delivers a claimed CLTC range of 200 km, while a 41.9 kWh CATL pack boosts this figure to 255 km, or 235 km with AWD. Expect WLTP numbers closer to 160 km, 200 km and 190 km respectively. The car also supports up to “3.5C” DC fast charging (around 145 kW) and can be charged from 10 to 70% in as little as 14.5 minutes.

If the Huajing S does go on sale here, it will likely be the second Huawei-influenced model offered in Malaysia, with the Avatr 07 from Changan – another HI Plus car – also being considered. Will TQ Wuling be able to justify this huge gap to the Bingo? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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