2018 Wey XEV – Chinese View of the Future and It Ain’t a Pretty One

Chinese are a determined bunch of people and they set their eyes on Europe. After crash tests debacle, sales figures disasters, they still yearn for reach to the hearts of old continent’s uncaring buyers. Great Wall Motors is one those and now it seemingly decided to change its tactics. The company used recent Frankfurt Motor Show to present to the world 2018 Wey XEV or their view how crossover with electrical outlet should look like. But first…

WHO THE HELL IS WEY?

First, you need to understand “who the hell” is Great Wall Motors. In China, it is “great” as much as the “wall” by which it was named in 1984 when it was formed. Last year it sold over a million vehicles worldwide under its moniker or sub one dubbed as Haval, and it is biggest SUV and pickup truck producer in China.

It also sells its products in more than few European countries, but sales numerals are disastrous (in Italy, UK, and Ireland it sold 125 units combined last year!?). Since Chinese are enormously fond of multiplication of badges, only one sub-brand (Haval) is definitely not enough for the deeds set by Great Wall (by its view), and a new one was just formed. That is what the Wey is. And it comes as a luxury branch of this rugged car maker. So, let’s see what that means for this XEV thing.

2018 WEY XEV EXTERIOR

Wey sub-brand was revealed last year in China, it already has something to fill dealer’s rooms, while with XEV it makes official world debut of itself. Still, XEV is just a concept. And we hope it stays that way. Why? Because it looks abominable, and that is said without any exaggeration. It is a complete visual mess, but not in a funky or interesting way. Sure it looks futuristic, but if this is the future than it is simply ugly one.

In short, next to it Pontiac Aztec seems conventional. As for the practical aspect of “unusual“ design, side door stretches completely over the side, eliminating the need for another one, and it opens upwards, requiring two empty parking spots from both sides to do so. Every owner frustrated with Tesla’s Falcon Wing doors, should see this and alleviate part of its sorrow.

2018 WEY XEV INTERIOR AND SPECS

For some reason, this lunacy stops before it manages to plague interior. The cabin looks more as usual futuristic stuff that we see with concepts these days, while also in accordance with latest trends, meaning lots of screens, few buttons. It also sits four people in separate chairs in what seems to be an abundance of space and actual styling of the dash is a decent one for a Chinese company.

As for specs, XEV is expectedly an EV with a range of 310 miles. And yes, it offers Level 4 of autonomy. That’s the last one which includes actual pedals and steering wheel, and one shelve above the one offered in just revealed groundbreaking new Audi A8. So, they’ll need lots of luck in bringing that to the streets, but on other hand, nobody forbids fantasy when concepts are concerned.

WHY DO YOU READ THIS?

Nobody knows when 2018 Wey XEV is going to hit the streets or is it ever going to (we cheer for the second one). Should Tesla Model X be worried? If it ever reaches US soil, it would probably struggle to score Pontiac Aztec’s sales figures in the last year of its presence (which was whole 25 units in 2007). But, let’s put jokes aside. You are reading this because Great Wall intends to arrive on American shores sooner or later and there was a time when we all laughed to (at the time) lousy Korean cars, but look at them now. Chinese are on the learning curve and someday they will arrive (for them hopefully) where Koreans are now, which is on par with the rest of the industry. And one more thing, Great Wall showed huge interest in buying a Jeep from FCA…

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Wrriten by Djordje (George) Mijatov ([email protected])