Avatr News

The Chinese luxury brand space is about to expand in Australia.Avatr, the luxury arm of Changan, is set for an Australian arrival imminently as the company goes on a hiring spree for Avatr Australia on LinkedIn.Whether the brand will launch at the same time as its mainstream arm Changan locally, and whether it will use the same sales model and dealer network, remains to be seen.Avatr serves as a rival to Zeekr (Geely’s premium arm), and MG’s IM Motors division, as well as other tech-forward Chinese brands not sold yet in Australia, including Nio.In Changan’s portfolio it sits above Deepal, which is already distributed in Australia via Subaru importer Inchcape.As to what to expect from the company, we can look at other right-hand drive markets for a clue.Avatr is already on sale in Thailand, where it sells two models in right-hand drive, the 07 and 11. Both are unusually-shaped models, with the Avatr 07 being a swoopy mid-size SUV, and the Avatr 11 adopting a crossover-styled liftback design, similar to the likes of the Polestar 4.This is just a fraction of the brand’s range available in China, which includes the 06 sedan and 06T wagon as competitors to the Zeekr 7GT, and the flagship 12 limousine.Avatr’s range is available both in fully electric and range-extender hybrid forms in China, although the 07 and 11 offered in right-hand drive for the Thai market are both electric only.The 07, which will go into battle with the overwhelmingly popular Zeekr 7X has a 82.16kWh LFP battery with 575km of driving range in base rear-wheel drive form, or 545km of driving range in top-spec AWD form, although both of these range figures are calculated to the more lenient NEDC methodology.The rear-drive version produces 252kW/365Nm able to sprint from 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds, while the AWD version produces a combined 440kW/645Nm, reducing 0-100km/h sprint time to just 3.9 seconds, according to the brand.The 07 has an 800-volt electrical architecture, allowing it to charge at a maximum speed of 420kW on DC for a charge time (quoted at 30 - 80 per cent) in 10 minutes.In Thailand, where Avatr is distributed rather than factory-backed, the 07 costs from the equivalent of $70,635 for the RWD to $79,150 for the top-spec AWD.They are priced at a little over half that in the Chinese domestic market. The reality for Australia is prices will likely being somewhere in-between, particularly if the 07 wants to take market share from the Zeekr 7X that is priced from $57,900 before on-roads.Meanwhile the unusually-styled 11 comes with a massive 116.79kWh NMC battery, allowing it a much longer driving range of 680km for the rear-drive version or 630km for the all-wheel drive version (also to NEDC figures).It produces 230kW/350Nm in RWD form with a 0-100km/h print for 6.9 seconds, while the all-wheel drive produces a combined 395kW/641Nm and reduces the 100km/h sprint to just 4.8 seconds.Its charging speed is less than the 07, rated at a maximum 240kW for a 30 - 80 per cent charge in 25 minutes.Both cars are able to output power via a vehicle-to-load system at 3.3kW, and both cars score continuously variable damping in all-wheel drive form.The Avatr 11 is built in Thailand, with the brand also planning to produce knock-down-kit versions of the 07.Plans for a further right-hand drive expansion for the Avatr brand are yet to be seen, but given the brand's recent rapid export-market expansion, we expect to see more soon.Changan as a group is also plotting a new product offensive across other right-hand drive markets in South East Asia ever closer to Australia like Malaysia, where it is contemplating other important products, including the affordable Nevo Q05 as a new rival to the Geely EX5, and even a range-extended hybrid dual-cab ute to be sold under the Changan marque.Stay tuned for more info on Avatr and Changan as their new model roll-out plans come to fruition.