Earlier this year, Honda announced that it would launch the China-only Ye range of EVs. At the event, Honda showed two near-production-ready cars, the S7 and P7, along with the Ye GT concept. Despite both the Ye S7 and P7 supposedly due to go on sale this year, so far, we have heard a lot more about the S7 from Honda’s Joint venture partner, Dongfeng. And it may well be the case that this car will go on sale before the P7 from GAC.
In the latest information about the Ye S7, we learn from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s “Catalogue of New Energy Vehicle Models Exempt from Vehicle Purchase Tax (Eighth Batch)” about both the range and the battery.
Maximum range of the Ye S7 is 620 km using the CLTC Cycle. This comes courtesy of an 89.8 kWh ternary lithium battery supplied by CATL. The car uses a dual-motor 4-wheel drive system with the front motor producing a maximum power of 150 kW and the rear 200 kW. Top speed is 180 km/h.
The Honda Ye S7 measures 4750, 1930, and 1625 mm (l/w/h), while the wheelbase is 2930 mm. Unusually, the MIIT listing last month for the car consisted of only one version, which weighs 2305 kg and uses 21-inch wheels. The car is a medium-sized pure electric SUV based on the brand’s new W architecture.
Thanks to its sharp lines and through lights, both front and rear, which are based around the letter H, the car has a quite distinctive look. It should be noted that the car also gains a new Honda brand logo. Noticeable high-end features include side view cameras rather than mirrors, however, the car does not seem to feature Lidar. According to the MIIT listing, there is an option for a dual-tone body color version. In black, the car looks quite menacing, whereas a white dual-tone version in the MIIT listing looks a lot mellower. Both the fast and slow charging ports are located in the front fender.
Although no official shot has yet emerged of the interior of the Honda Ye S7, we can assume that pictures taken of the car at the Beijing Auto Show should be fairly representative of the production version. These show a three-spoke flat-bottomed steering wheel along with an LCD instrument screen panel, which is located deep into the dashboard near the windshield. A large centrally mounted entertainment screen is divided into two parts with the lower part dedicated to climate and seat controls, The upper part covers the usual entertainment screen functions. Other known equipment includes a panoramic roof, a Bose sound system, and wireless phone charging.
The car is expected to be positioned above Dongfeng Honda e:NS1, which has a price range of 175,000-218,000 yuan (24,500 – 30,500 USD). Therefore, we can expect the starting price for the Honda Ye S7 to be at least 200,000 yuan (27,950 USD), and the car will compete with cars such as the Tesla Model Y and Nio ES6.
Source: Fast Technology, MIIT
