If the funding criteria for plug-in hybrids in Germany are tightened in a year’s time, there will be hardly any vehicles for which a premium is paid. Because according to the WLTP, they would have to cover at least 60 kilometers purely electrically. And now comes a Chinese car manufacturer that makes you laugh your stomach at something like that: the Wey Coffee 01 can travel 150 kilometers!
How useful this is is another question, because this is a mighty SUV with a really mighty battery – with a capacity of 41.8 kilowatt hours! That is more than, for example, the Honda e, which is a sensible electric car for the city.
But the Wey Coffee 01 is definitely impressive. In terms of format (and demands) it is on par with a BMW X5 or Mercedes GLE, and the Stuttgart-based company is likely to have been inspired by interior design too. Everything looks elegant and dignified in a modern way, the quilted door panels, the loudspeaker panels, everything is reminiscent of Mercedes. Only the cockpit design with the towering black wall paints a different picture. On the other hand, the integrated 9.2-inch speedometer display is more for the eye.
Technically, however, he does not show any nakedness. The Coffee uses a super-fast “Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155” chip, the central display measures 14.6 inches, and the head-up display with augmented reality should be offered as standard. The car is supposed to recognize the driver’s face by means of a camera and then make all personal settings. Four cameras for a 360-degree all-round view, multimedia package including WiFi hotspot and over the air updates, all standard. The assistance systems should be at the top level, including 3D object recognition.
The stately dimensions of 4.87 meters in length and 2.91 meters of wheelbase lead to plenty of space in the interior.
A total of three motors provide the drive. Under the hood sits a two-liter four-cylinder with 150 hp, an electric motor with 110 kW / 150 hp is integrated into the nine-speed automatic. There is also another electric motor with 135 kW / 184 PS on the rear axle. The manufacturer specifies a system output of 350 kW / 476 PS.
If everyone works together, the 2220 kg heavy all-wheel drive unit balances itself to 100 km / h in five seconds, with a maximum speed of 235 km / h (“if legally permitted”, it says in the data sheet). The sprint should take an impressive seven seconds, and the electric top speed is limited to 135 km / h.
From the end of the year, the Wey Coffee 01 will be available for orders from around 50,000 euros in Europe. The manufacturer has not yet revealed when it will be launched in which markets. What is certain is that the first Wey shop is currently being built in Munich and nine more city stores as well as ten pop-up shops and 60 service stations are to follow. Austrian prospects have to be patient. A first European production facility is under construction.
The Chinese manufacturer Wey is a subsidiary of Great Wall, was founded in 1984 and is China’s largest SUV manufacturer. Great Wall, once China’s first private automaker, has big goals. From 2025, four million vehicles are expected to be sold worldwide each year, 80 percent of which are purely battery-electric models, fuel cell cars or plug-in hybrids.