What to Know About huawei-Dongfeng brand Epicland opens pre-sales of first model X9 from $44,180
- The Epicland X9 extended-range SUV is the second model Huawei has developed with an automaker under a new cooperation model, following the Aistaland GT7.
- The Epicland X9 is priced at 299,800 yuan to 379,800 yuan in pre-sales and has a combined range of more than 1,500 kilometers.
Epicland, a brand jointly developed by Dongfeng Motor and Huawei, opened pre-sales of its first model, the X9 SUV (sport utility vehicle), on Tuesday, with a price range of 299,800 yuan ($44,180) to 379,800 yuan.
The model is the second vehicle Huawei has developed with an automaker under a new cooperation model, following the launch of the Aistaland GT7 on June 26. The Aistaland GT7 is the first model from Aistaland, a premium brand jointly developed by Huawei and GAC Group (HKEX: 2238).
Huawei’s main form of cooperation with local automakers currently involves multiple models across five brands under HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance).
The Epicland X9 is offered in 3 variants, all powered by extended-range systems. The official launch is set for the third quarter.
The extended-range Max long-range version has a pre-sales price of 299,800 yuan, the extended-range all-wheel-drive Ultra+ long-range version is priced at 339,800 yuan, and the extended-range all-wheel-drive Ultra+ flagship long-range version is priced at 379,800 yuan.
Epicland did not disclose first-day order figures, as is common among its peers. Brand general manager Zeng Qinglin said on social media platform Weibo that the website system crashed after pre-sales opened, preventing users from placing orders, and that the team worked overnight to troubleshoot the issue.
The X9 is a 3-row, 6-seat full-size SUV measuring 5,301 mm in length, 2,015 mm in width and 1,820 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,120 mm.
Its dimensions are comparable to the standard version of the Aito M9 under HIMA, but its price is much lower. The standard Aito M9 measures 5,285 mm in length, 2,026 mm in width and 1,845 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,125 mm, and starts at 479,800 yuan.
The Epicland X9 uses 6 Huawei Qiankun intelligent solutions covering assisted driving, the HarmonyOS cockpit, the Chitu platform, automotive optics, vehicle-cloud services and communications systems.
For power, the X9 uses a 1.5-liter turbocharged range extender with a maximum output of 95 kW. The all-wheel-drive version has front and rear motors producing a combined 420 kW and can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 5.1 seconds.
The vehicle is based on an 800-volt platform and is equipped with a 74.29-kWh battery pack, delivering a CLTC battery-only range of up to 465 kilometers and a combined range of more than 1,500 kilometers.
For the chassis, the X9 is equipped with dual-chamber air suspension and EDC continuously variable damping shock absorbers. It also supports bidirectional rear-wheel steering of up to 14 degrees, giving it a turning radius of 5.3 meters.
For assisted driving, the X9 comes standard with Huawei’s new-generation 896-channel dual-optical-path image-level LiDAR, while higher-trim versions use the full-stack Qiankun ADS 5 Max system with 4 LiDAR sensors.
The cabin debuts HarmonySpace 6 and features dual 17.2-inch 3.4K displays. It also comes with a 75-inch Huawei XHUD, a 21-speaker Huawei Sound audio system and an AI companion robot called “Hamomo.”
Epicland was previously referred to by Dongfeng as the “DH project” and was officially named at the Huawei Qiankun ecosystem conference on November 20 last year.
The X9 made its debut at the Beijing Auto Show in April this year, after the first tooling prototype rolled off the production line in December last year. The brand plans to launch at least 1 new model each year.
In China’s premium “9-series” SUV segment, the Epicland X9 will compete with models including Xpeng‘s (NYSE: XPEV) GX, Volkswagen’s ID. ERA 9X and GWM‘s (HKEX: 2333) Wey V9X.
($1 = 6.7854 yuan)
