New Tesla challenger from China causes a stir at the auto show

Hardly anyone knows China's fifth largest carmaker, but Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) with its electric cars would compete with Tesla, Nissan and European car manufacturers

Until now GAC was largely unknown. But it's causing a stir at the Detroit Auto Show. Founded in 2008, the company presents its concept car Enverge in Detroit. This is an electrically powered SUV.

The futuristic design of this car shows clear edges and slot-shaped front LED headlights under which you can see the far down windscreen. The dashboard dominates inside the interior. The steering wheel is U shaped, like in airplanes.

As The Verge writes, Enverge is said to have a range of nearly 370 miles on a single charge, a 71-kilowatt battery and a wireless charging technology, which in 10 minutes stores enough energy to drive 270 miles.

Enverge has more range than Tesla Model 3

Enverge's 370 miles per single change gives the it the potential to become a Tesla challenger. Tesla's Model 3 has 310 miles of range per single charge. The industry should not underestimate this Chinese competitor.

Chinese cars these days are well connected.

On the company website Denso, Continental, Bosch, Magna and Siemens are mentioned as supplying partners. GAC cooperates with Honda, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler. Furthermore, the company points out that it has tested its vehicles in Germany and Austria under different road and weather conditions.

GAC has also shown that the company's announcements follow action. Founded in 2008, the automaker serves two product lines: an SUV with five models and four sedans from compact to mid-size. They are manufactured by 13,000 employees in a factory covering an area of ​​1.2 million square meters. Their capacity is called 350,000 vehicles per year. This is a serious company.

GAC is the fifth largest car manufacturer in China

The registered capital of the company is stated to be 4.2 billion yuan (614 million US dollars). For comparison: Daimler's capital is 6 times bigger (about 3 billion euros). GAC is considered the fifth- to six-largest automaker in China.

This automaker also sees itself as a global company. In 2017 it has exported the 10 percent of its cars. For the 2020 CAG aims for 20 percent with a production volume of one million vehicles sold.

Already has one EV in Nissan Leaf Class

Most cars, made by GAC are conventional ICE cars. However, the company already has two hybrids and one pure EV SUV (GE3) on sale. It has 192 miles of range per single charge.

There is no information about the market launch and the price of the car presented as concept car at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. It is expected that GAC will start selling Enverge in the United States in 2019. Apparently there are ongoing discussions between GAC and Fiat-Chrysler using the latter's dealership network.

Tesla better hurry up with its Model 3 deliveries. Chinese EV manufacturers with solid record may soon overtake Tesla's US market share unless Tesla speeds up its Model 3 deliveries. Let us know what you think about this development in the comments section below.