Attention to consumers who want to buy small pure electric cars, a powerful electric SUV is about to enter the field in a high-profile way.
The car is the Geely EX3 | Kung Fu Bull, a pure electric SUV with a 300 km range, starting at 59,700 RMB, which is a bit disproportionate considering its 2.48-meter wheelbase—it can almost be mixed into the A-level car circle.
Today, small and micro electric cars are very popular. The dominant player in this category is the Hongguang MINI EV, a car that sells for less than 30,000 RMB but whose sales have exceeded 40,000 vehicles. After the success of the MINI EV, other car companies followed suit, and all kinds of small and micro electric cars appeared one after another in the new car announcements by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
It can be said that Hongguang MINI EV has created a blue ocean amidst fierce market competition, but other car companies have turned this blue ocean into a red ocean in less than a year.
As a result, micro electric cars have entered a crazy spiral, making the market more and more deformed, becoming a market of imitators of the MINI EV.
The appearance of the EX3 | Kung Fu Bull is a bold attempt by Geely Auto that injects new vitality into the micro electric car market. The EX3 | Kung Fu Bull shares the same price range as micro electric cars, but its product power sets it apart.
Currently, MINI EV models still have three consumer pain points: space, reliability of the three power sources, and overall vehicle safety.
Even the enlarged version of the MINI EV, it is difficult for four adults to sit comfortably. MINI EV models that commonly use lithium iron phosphate batteries perform poorly in range during cold winters in the northern regions. The weak power of MINI EV models limits them to city roads and makes it difficult for them to enter higher-level highways and expressways. Due to cost constraints, the main and passive safety configurations of small and micro electric vehicles can be cut corners, and some don’t even come with airbags.
With the product power of the EX3 | Kung Fu Bull, the three consumer pain points of MINI EV models are completely resolved.
In terms of space, the EX3 | Kung Fu Bull is over 4 meters long and can comfortably fit 5 people. With a luggage compartment space of 400L, it can accommodate 3 20-inch carry-on suitcases, and the rear seats support a 4/6 fold-down ratio, increasing the volume to 900L after folding.
In terms of the three power sources, the EX3 | Kung Fu Bull uses lithium-ion batteries that support heating and cooling functions. The battery capacity is 37 kWh, and the range is 322 km according to MIIT standards. The 70 kW permanent magnet synchronous motor provides fast acceleration.## On Safety
EX3 | Kung Fu Bull series is equipped with front dual airbags, front and rear anti-collision steel beams, and front and rear disc brakes as standard to provide strong defense and protect the safety of passengers inside the vehicle.
Spacious and Unmatched
In terms of space, EX3 | Kung Fu Bull is far ahead of other electric vehicles priced at 50,000 yuan.
In terms of body size, EX3 | Kung Fu Bull has an obvious advantage. The length, width, and height of its body are 4005/1760/1575mm, with a wheelbase of 2480mm. Compared with other small electric cars in the same price range, EX3 | Kung Fu Bull looks more generous and decent as a whole.
During the test drive, we conducted a simple test on the storage capacity of the car’s trunk. Without folding down the rear seats, EX3 | Kung Fu Bull’s trunk can hold a 24-inch suitcase, two 20-inch carry-on bags, and two daily backpacks.
After our measurement, the width of the trunk of EX3 | Kung Fu Bull is up to 1 meter, depth is 65 cm, and height is 86 cm. After folding down the rear seats, the depth of the trunk can be further expanded to 1.5 meters, making it possible to vertically place a bicycle.
In fact, not only the trunk space is spacious, the overall space of EX3 | Kung Fu Bull outperforms other competitors in the same category. Among electric vehicles priced under 60,000 yuan, EX3 | Kung Fu Bull is one of the few models whose width exceeds 1750mm. Therefore, even when the rear seats are fully occupied by three adults, comfortable seating is guaranteed and there is no squeezing between people.
In terms of longitudinal and vertical space, there is still about a fist distance above the head and half the width of a hand of space behind a female with a height of 170cm in the rear seats of EX3 | Kung Fu Bull.
Particularly praiseworthy is the all-flat floor design of the back row in Geely Geometry EX3 | Kung Fu Cow. When there are three people sitting in the back row, the passenger in the middle can also sit comfortably for a long time, which is very rare among the same price models.
In the competitive models of the same level and price, most of the back rows of the two-door four-seat models have a large central protrusion on the floor, which is insufficient for three people to sit horizontally, and it is inconvenient for the rear passengers to get in and out of the car, making it difficult for adult riders to stay comfortably in the back row for a long time.
Considering the actual experience of the back row and the trunk of Geely Geometry EX3 | Kung Fu Cow, its space is indeed beyond the level of 50,000 yuan electric vehicles. Even compared with more expensive small electric vehicles, the Geely Geometry EX3 | Kung Fu Cow’s space is still not inferior.
When choosing a car, household car space trumps everything else. The performance of Geely Geometry EX3 | Kung Fu Cow in terms of space can become a killer feature in the process of consumer car purchasing.
High-voltage three-electric system to simplify things
Micro electric vehicles are afraid of cold, heat, and slow charging.
After the temperature drops in winter, the endurance of micro electric vehicles declines more significantly than that of large ones. Due to cost considerations, micro electric vehicles mostly use fan cooling. When continuously driving and charging in summer, the charging speed is relatively slow, and some models do not even support fast charging.
These problems with micro electric vehicles are caused by the widespread adoption of low-voltage three-electric systems, which are derived from the three-electric system architecture of old age electric mobility scooters that operate at a voltage of around 100V and do not support DC high-speed charging.
The advantage of the Geely Geometry EX3 | Kung Fu Cow is that it uses a 400V high-voltage three-electric system, which is a high-voltage three-electric system derived from new energy electric vehicles.
The power battery of Geely Geometry EX3 | Kung Fu Cow adopts a liquid cooling design and supports the heating and cooling functions of the power battery. Its battery capacity reaches 37kWh, which is the only power battery pack in the same level and price range with a liquid cooling constant temperature function, and its capacity is also higher than that of the competing models.
The direct advantage of a high-voltage three-electric system is its support for DC fast charging. In the experience process, we conducted a simple test on the DC fast charging function of Geely Geometry EX3 | Kung Fu Cow.
On a charging pile with a power of 60kW, when Geely Geometry EX3 | Kung Fu Cow had 61% remaining power, it started charging. At that moment, the charging voltage was 399.3V, the charging current was 99.8A, and the charging power was 40kW. Due to the power output limit of the charging facility, the actual highest charging power of Geely Geometry EX3 | Kung Fu Cow can reach 70kW.From the actual charging experience, the EX3 | Kungfu Cow can be charged from 30% to 80% in half an hour, corresponding to an increase in the range of over 150 kilometers.
When fully charged, the EX3 | Kungfu Cow has a range of up to 322 kilometers, which can meet the needs of car owners for a week of use, achieving worry-free driving with just one charge per week.
Charging is a relatively objective advantage of the high-voltage three-electric system of the EX3 | Kungfu Cow, while the advantage in power is more subjective.
The EX3 | Kungfu Cow adopts a 70kW permanent magnet synchronous motor with a peak torque of up to 180N·m and an acceleration time of less than 4.6 seconds from 0-50km/h, making it the fastest among the same priced models.
In the actual driving experience, the acceleration of the EX3 | Kungfu Cow is relatively quick. When driving at low speeds in the city, the feeling of sharp acceleration is similar to that of a 1.5T gasoline car. The common problem of this price range is weak acceleration at high speeds, but the Kungfu Cow’s acceleration in high-speed driving is good and can ensure power on demand at speeds below 100km/h.
The EX3 | Kungfu Cow’s 400V high-voltage three-electric system ensures its advantages in power battery charging and discharging performance and safety, while also bringing higher power output performance. Compared with competing models in the same class, the advantages brought by the high-voltage three-electric system are overwhelming. Therefore, compared with a group of competing models that do not support fast charging, the EX3 | Kungfu Cow can not only be used as a daily commute car, but also for cross-city travel.
As an SUV model, the EX3 | Kungfu Cow has a minimum ground clearance of 165mm, which can cope with special road conditions such as repair road sections. When car owners go on daily self-driving trips, the ground clearance of the Kungfu Cow will be shown, and there’s no need to worry about the bottoming out affecting the safety of the power battery.
Geometry enables the 50,000 yuan market
The hot sale of the Hongguang Mini EV has attracted a ripple effect, and there are many car companies who hope to gain a foothold in this segment, including a large number of car companies that upgraded from elderly mobility cars and new car-making enterprises.
In fact, traditional car companies with automobile production R&D and manufacturing capabilities have become an alternative in this niche market.
The EX3 | Kungfu Cow belongs to the alternative category, it is a model launched by the Geometry brand under the Geely automobile.## Geely Cars’ Competitive Advantage in Low-Price Electric Vehicle Market
Geely’s current lineup of two electric vehicles, the Geely A Pro and Geely C, are both standout performers among 200,000-yuan-level pure electric cars, well sought after by consumers for their outstanding true range. In a series of real-world range competitions held in the winter of 2020 and spring of 2021, Geely A Pro and Geely C both won the championship titles.
EX3 | Kung Fu Niu is a new car launched by Geely for its low-end market, and it has a natural advantage in brand empowerment. A clear example of this is the passive safety of cars. As a model introduced by traditional automakers, EX3 | Kung Fu Niu has done relatively well in terms of safety configuration.
The following image shows a comparison of safety configurations for electric cars priced around 50,000 yuan:
EX3 | Kung Fu Niu comes with front and rear anti-collision beams as well as four-wheel disc brakes and dual airbags as standard. The richness of its safety configuration demonstrates that Geely has maintained the required safety standards for EX3 | Kung Fu Niu despite the lowered price.
The thoroughness of its safety configuration also reflects the competitive advantage for traditional automakers to create low-priced electric vehicles. In places where consumers can see, traditional automakers can do well, and in places where consumers can’t see, they can also do well. The Geely brand’s move to produce low-priced electric vehicles is an excellent demonstration of brand empowerment in the low-priced electric vehicle market and a show of responsibility.
Geely’s “Art of War”
In “Art of War,” one uses superior horses to compete with the opponent’s mediocre horses and wins. Geely’s strategy in the low-priced electric vehicle market is similar. It uses high-quality pure electric SUVs to compete against competitors’ micro electric vehicles.
Apart from their price, EX3 | Kung Fu Niu and micro electric vehicles are completely different types of cars. EX3 | Kung Fu Niu has a larger space, an automobile-level safety 400V high-voltage tri-system, and more comprehensive active and passive safety configurations.
And, of course, there is the brand empowerment of Geely for the EX3 | Kung Fu Niu model.
All of these form the competitive advantage of EX3 | Kung Fu Niu. Among vehicles of the same price, EX3 | Kung Fu Niu has superior product power. Among vehicles of the same product power, EX3 | Kung Fu Niu is a more cost-effective choice. No matter how it is compared, EX3 | Kung Fu Niu always has its own competitive advantage.
This is Geely’s perfect plan.
Currently, EX3 | Kung Fu Niu is available for pre-sale, starting at 59,700 yuan. As usual, the official price of the new car will likely drop further after it is launched. If the price further drops to 55,000 yuan, EX3 | Kung Fu Niu will become a sharp knife in the micro electric vehicle market, finding its own foothold in a market already heavily contested and potentially becoming a new phenomenon-level product.
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.