The Jiyue 07 electric liftback from the joint venture between Geely and Baidu reached dealerships in China. It is the brand’s second model, aimed to improve Jiyue’s poor sales performance. The 07 liftback will make its market debut soon.
Jiyue’s bumpy ride in China
Jiyue was initially established in 2021 as Jidu, a joint venture between Baidu and Geely, with “Chinese Google” holding the major stake. However, Jidu failed to obtain the sales license and was restructured to become Jiyue. Under the new name, Geely grabbed 65% of the JV, with Baidu holding the rest. In this JV, Geely takes care of manufacturing, while Baidu is responsible for the software.
The first Jiyue car modestly called Jiyue 01 (see specs) entered the domestic market in October 2023 with a starting price of 249,900 yuan (34,350 USD). Later, its price was sliced y 30,000 yuan (4,100 USD). It is an SUV based on Geely’s SEA modular architecture. The Jiyue 01 is being assembled at the same plant as the Zeekr 001 liftback. However, Jiyue’s sales volume is disappointing. From January to May 2024, the Geely&Baidu JV sold just 2,239 units.
So, Jiyue currently almost seems like a pointless brand. However, it hopes to improve its sales performance by launching its second model, the Jiyue 07 liftback. It successfully obtained a sales license in May. And now, a batch of Jiyue 07 has reached dealers in China.
Jiyue 07 arrived at dealers
This week, Jiyue 07 liftbacks were spotted piling up at dealerships across China. Thanks to the photos, we can check the boy color options of this vehicle. The Jiyue 07 will be available in Gray, Blue, Black, White and Green colors.
The exterior of the 07 liftback stays in line with the variant shown by the Governmental regulator. It follows the design language of the Jiyue 01 SUV. The front end of the 07 adopts an LED strip that crosses the front end and two Y-shaped headlights. It also has a trapeze-shaped air intake in the front bumper. From the side, the Jiyue 07 has a sleek profile with a slanted roof and retractable door handle. The rear end of the actual car adopts an active spoiler and a single taillight unit.
Inside, the Jiyue 07 adopts a single screen that crosses the dashboard. This car has a steering yoke instead of the steering wheel. Back to the entertainment system of this electric car, it is powered by a Snapdragon 8295 chip from Qualcomm. Another feature of the Jiyue 07 is the Apollo autonomous driving system.
Jiyue 07 specs
The Jiyue 07 boasts hefty dimensions of 4953/1989/1475 mm with a wheelbase of 3013 mm. Another feature of this liftback is a drag coefficient of 0.198 Cd. This number makes the Jiyue 07 one of the most aerodynamic mass-produced cars, together with Xpeng 03, Geely Galaxy E8, Xiaomi SU7, and Zeekr 007. It is worth noting that Jiyue 07 received the iF Design Award 2023 and was the Red Dot 2023 car design winner.
The Jiyue 07 stands on the SEA platform from Geely. The same architecture and its offshoots underpin every Zeekr-branded car, Smart #1, Smart #3, LEVC L380 minivan, Radar RD6 pickup truck, Geely Galaxy E8, Jiyue 01, etc. Back to the 07 liftback, it offers three powertrain variants:
- RWD, 200 kW (268 hp), 71.4 kWh LFP battery, 660 km CLTC range
- RWD, 200 kW (268 hp), 100 kWh ternary NMC battery, 880 km CLTC range
- 4WD, 400 kW (536 hp), 100 kWh ternary NMC battery, 770 km CLTC range
The Jiyue 07 has already reached dealers. It means its sales will kick off soon. The starting price of this liftback is expected to be around 200,000 yuan (27,500 USD). It is a competitive price. However, Jiyue is a little-known brand in China. As a result, the Jiyue 07 has many competitors with higher credibility among Chinese buyers. It means the sales volume of this liftback won’t be high.
Source: WeChat
