On December 17th, the swappable midsize SUV RuiLan 9 was officially launched. The new car has a total of 4 versions, and due to its swappable battery feature, the price after removing the battery is 109,900 to 129,900 yuan, while the price after buying out the battery is 169,900 to 199,900 yuan. The specific configurations are as follows:

• The Fashion version is priced at 109,900 yuan and has a CLTC of 380 km (equipped with a 52.56 kWh battery, buyout price of 60,000 yuan).
• The Leading version is priced at 119,900 yuan and has a CLTC of 470 km (equipped with a 66.57 kWh battery, buyout price of 70,000 yuan).
• The Origin version is priced at 121,900 yuan and has a CLTC of 470 km (equipped with a 66.57 kWh battery, buyout price of 70,000 yuan).
• The Flagship version is priced at 129,900 yuan and has a CLTC of 470 km (equipped with a 66.57 kWh battery, buyout price of 70,000 yuan).

Currently, users who purchase RuiLan 9 can either spend 60,000 yuan to buy out the 52.56 kWh battery or 70,000 yuan to buy out the 66.57 kWh battery. Alternatively, they can rent the 66.57 kWh battery for 898 yuan and also enjoy installment payments over 24-72 months.

In addition, users who buy the car now can enjoy 3 gift packages and 5 privileges. Buyers of the Origin version before February 28th of next year can also enjoy the Basic Assistant Driving OTA plan worth 6,000 yuan.

Many people may not know about the RuiLan brand. In fact, the birth of the RuiLan brand can be traced back to October 2021, when Geely Auto CEO An Conghui first proposed the launch of a new swappable battery mobility brand at the “Geely Smart Vision 2025” strategy conference.# Introduction

Ruiliang Automobile was officially established on January 24, 2022 and is located in the Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing. It is a joint venture between Geely Automobile Holdings Limited and Lifan Technology (Group) Co., Ltd. Today, Ruiliang 9 was officially launched with a price range of CNY 169,900 to 199,900, becoming the most cost-effective electric vehicle on the market.

Exterior

Ruiliang 9 is positioned as a midsize pure electric SUV, with a body size of 4,845 x 1,890 x 1,778 mm and a wheelbase of 2,825 mm, which is close to the size of the same level 7-seater benchmark Toyota Highlander. Ruiliang 9 offers two space layouts: 6 seats and 7 seats.

Interior

The cockpit is also one of the most concerned points for consumers. Ruiliang 9 is equipped with dual 12.3-inch central control and instrument screens, plus an 8-inch W-HUD to provide driving information, which is in line with the current mainstream cockpit screen configuration. The voice interaction assistant uses Baidu Honghu intelligent voice interaction processing platform, and the subsequent capabilities can be continuously iterated and upgraded.

In addition, as a pure electric SUV with 6/7 seats designed for family use, there is also a certain demand for daily driving range. Currently, the Roewe ERX5 9 is equipped with two battery specifications of 52.56/66.57 kWh, and the official CLTC range is 380/470 kilometers.

380 km is only able to meet the daily commuting needs of the Roewe ERX5 9. If long-distance travel is required, the 66.57 kWh version is more practical, and the price difference is only 20,000 yuan.

Roewe’s battery swap stations have two station types: single and dual storage, and official claims to have the ability to complete the swap in one minute. The two types of stations can support service capacities of more than 300 times/day and 600 times/day respectively.

However, at this stage, the one-minute battery swap speed is not the most concerned issue for Roewe users. It is the coverage of battery swap stations that is the most concerned. If the coverage of battery swap stations is not sufficient, users still have range anxiety and cannot fully utilize the benefits of battery swapping, relying on charging for daily use.

Taking NIO, the top brand in battery swapping, as an example, it has only recently reached the 100th battery swapping station in Shanghai, and the deployment volume has not yet reached an ideal level. Therefore, we hope that Roewe can quickly deploy more battery swap stations.

In terms of power, the peak power of the single motor of the Rui Blue 9 is 150 kW, which is normal for a medium-sized 6/7-seater SUV. As the primary users of Rui Blue 9 are families, 150 kW of power is sufficient.

The Rui Blue 9 adopts the GBRC crystal vehicle technology platform, with a systematic and modular design that supports a wheelbase range of 2,700-3,100 mm and is compatible with various vehicle types such as sedans, SUVs, and MPVs. The architecture can be equipped with multiple powertrain combinations, ranging from 100 kW to 155 kW, achieving front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, or four-wheel drive.

In terms of intelligent driving, the Rui Blue 9 provides basic driver assistance functions such as ACC full-speed adaptive cruise control system, city pre-collision safety system, pedestrian recognition and protection system, lane-keeping assistance system, and lane departure assistance system.

In terms of design, the Rui Blue 9 has a more square and practical style, which provides relatively more space in the cabin. The exterior design follows the current popular trend of a closed front face, continuous light strip, and split-type headlights. However, in today’s increasingly homogenous exterior design, the Rui Blue 9 does not have too many outstanding features. Its advantage lies in being simple and generous, which is widely accepted by people.

Recently, the terms “affordable” and “technological equality” have been quite popular. And the Roewe 9 has also made these two terms their own label. If you have a budget of only 200,000 yuan, but want a medium SUV that is produced by a large factory, has diverse energy supplement methods, strong family-oriented features, and can make some compromises on small details, then the Roewe 9 is indeed the most cost-effective choice in the current market.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.