Chinese EV Brand HiPhi To Launch In Europe This Year With New Model

Another Chinese EV maker is targeting a European market entry, but it's not as well known as BYD, Great Wall Motor, Nio or XPeng.

Human Horizons will launch its HiPhi premium EV brand in some European markets by the end of this year as the company looks to expand overseas.

HH co-founder Mark Stanton told Reuters that the automaker would announce which European countries it would enter at the Shanghai auto show later this month. He did say HiPhi will first enter a couple of markets with higher EV penetration in western Europe or Scandinavia.

"We do not want to go out there and overextend ourselves and do too much too quickly. We will dip our toe in the water, then to start to build our brand," Stanton said.

The executive said HiPhi's connected, tech-laden EVs will target "younger, more affluent and much more open minded customers" who don't have an allegiance to a brand like Mercedes-Benz or Porsche.

While the HiPhi marque currently sells the range-topping X SUV and Z grand tourer in China, it won't bring them to Europe. Stanton told Autocar that the mission to bring the HiPhi brand to the region will be entrusted to a new model, expected to be called the HiPhi Y (pictured here).

This model will target a lower price point and higher sales volumes, despite being based on the same architecture as the larger X and Z EVs. The HiPhi Y will be revealed at the Shanghai auto show later this month, promising comparable levels of technology and functionality to the X and Z flagship EVs at a lower price.

Stanton said HiPhi will look to equip its new entry-level model with the same striking design cues, premium features, advanced tech, and engaging driving characteristics as its existing products.

The first photos of the upcoming HiPhi Y were posted by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on its website two months ago, showing a crossover SUV body style with similar styling to the HiPhi X, albeit less striking and more conventional.

The regulatory filing revealed that the Y is not a small vehicle, measuring 194.4 inches (4,938 mm) in length, 77.1 in (1,958 mm) in width, and 65.3 in (1,658 mm) in height, with a generous wheelbase of 116.1 in (2,950 mm).

In China, the HiPhi Y will offer single-motor RWD and dual-motor AWD versions with outputs of 247 kilowatts (331 horsepower) and 371 kW (498 hp), respectively. Two battery choices will be offered, 76-kilowatt-hour and 115 kWh, with the latter said to enable a range of up to 503 miles (810 kilometers) on the CLTC test cycle.

According to local media, the model is expected to be priced from $58,200 (400,000 yuan) in China.