The first all-electric Buick model is here – if “here” is China. The new, Ultium-based Electra E5 is targeting the mainstream.
The new “Electra E5” is an all-electric Buick SUV with room for five passengers designed specifically for the needs of the Chinese market, where (GM hopes) it will live as a “premium” model with mainstream appeal.
“The Electra E5 is the first of an all-new portfolio of Buick EVs in China that will set the benchmark across mainstream EV segments,” said Cesar Toledo, general director of Buick Sales and Marketing at SAIC-GM, in a statement. “It fully embodies the brand’s ongoing transformation through its innovative spirit and adoption of the latest industry innovations, including the Ultium platform, all-new Virtual Cockpit System and enhanced Super Cruise driver assist technology, which customers will appreciate.”
If all that sounds familiar, that’s because the Electra E5 design brief reads very similar to another “mainstream premium,” Ultium-based, electric SUV from the General that was recently revealed: the Chevy Blazer.
Buick hasn’t given us any real power or performance specs, yet, but MIIT revealed that the base Electra E5 (in single motor trim) had a peak output of 180 kw (about 240 horsepower), powered by a li-ion battery supplied by a CATL and SAIC JV. That said, the upcoming go-fast version of the new Blazer (the “SS”) features an exclusive, AWD system that’s gear for on-road performance with 557 HP and 648 lb-ft of TQ. We have to ask: could an “Electra GNX” be very far behind?
Buick Electra E5 Electric SUV
SOURCE | IMAGES: BUICK, VIA DETROIT NEWS.
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