Qoros unveils ambitious green plan

Young Chinese carmaker Qoros revealed its green ambitions by showcasing two electric concept cars and a new engine at the ongoing Beijing auto show.

"These are exciting times at Qoros," said Chen Anning, chairman and CEO of the joint venture between Kenon Holdings and Chery Auto, on Monday.

"Our electric vehicle roadmap is robust and our cooperation with Christian von Koenigsegg (the founder of Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg Automotive AB) will change how the industry views combustion engines."

The Qoros 3 Q-LECTRIQ, which made its global debut at the Beijing show, is a new addition to the company's electric vehicle family.

It is designed to have a range of 350 km, can finish the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds, boasts a top speed of 162 km/h, and gets its battery 80 percent charged within an hour.

Qoros said the car, which is in pre-production, will hit the streets later this year, with mass production to start in 2017.

The car comes on the heels of the Qoros 5 SUV Q-LECTRIQ, which premiered in January and is currently being showcased at the auto show.

Chen said Qoros will launch more affordable and accessible green products in the future with the full support of its parent companies.

"Both shareholders of Qoros are pleased with what we see coming down the road and will offer support as always to the future growth of the company," he said.

'Disruptive innovation'

Besides its new-energy cars, the automaker demonstrated an engine developed in partnership with FreeValve, which was established by Koenigsegg.

Qoros said QamFree is a "disruptive innovation" of traditional internal combustion engines. Through a pneumatic, hydraulic or electric actuator, it controls each valve separately and replaces the traditional camshaft valve control system.

The result is the engine becomes smaller but has a stronger output and uses less fuel.

Qoros said this technological progress will enable its future models to have much better power and meet the latest emissions requirements in both Europe and China.

"It is Qoros' independence, persistence and visionary innovative spirit that facilitate this cooperation," Koenigsegg said. "Koenigsegg and Qoros share a lot in common. Both are dedicated to the constant innovation and application of cuttingedge technologies in order to provide customers with world-class products and inspirational brand experience desired by customers."

Qoros has top designers and engineers from the auto industry worldwide, enabling the company to develop and produce high quality cars.

Its first model, the Qoros 3 compact car, was the first China-built model to receive a five-star rating under the Euro NCAP safety standards.

Chen said Qoros is a high-end Chinese brand that can compete with international brands in terms of quality, performance and value.

He said the Qoros 5 SUV interprets the brand's core product competitiveness: exquisite technology, world-class quality, a unique design language, industry-leading smart connectivity, accurate and steady performance and inspirational customer driving experience.

More than 3,000 units have been sold since it made its market debut in March. Chen said that its rivals are SUVs priced at above 150,000 yuan ($23,000) from international brands, including Ford, Toyota, GM and Hyundai.

In the first quarter, Qoros saw its sales almost double year-on-year and expects them to climb further later this year as the Qoros 5 becomes available nationwide.

Qoros is an automaker with an innovative spirit, an automaker that "stands somewhere between traditional firms and Apple Inc", Chen said.

It is probably the first Chinese automaker to introduce connectivity into its cars. The latest version of its Qoros-Cloud allows Qoros car owners to conduct social networking online, turning cars from a mode of transportation into a lifestyle.