Car site Edmonds tests Chinese SUV, says it should worry US automakers

By Nora Eckert

DETROIT, April 3 (Reuters) – Popular car-shopping website Edmunds put a Chinese vehicle through a series of rigorous tests for the first time, and editor-in-chief Alistair Weaver took a striking impression: American automakers have good reason to worry.

With Chinese cars effectively banned in the United States, Edmonds wanted to test one because of growing American consumer interest in affordable, feature-packed vehicles. It got its hands on the Geely Galaxy M9 — an extended-range SUV hybrid that starts at around $25,000 in China — and put the vehicle through its full battery test to measure driving range, acceleration, braking and other performance characteristics.

Many of the M9’s features are “ahead of the vehicles we drive in the U.S.,” Weaver said as he drove the car around Edmonds’ Los Angeles-based test track. “Technology is terrible.”

A recent survey by Cox Automotive showed that US consumers are increasingly open to Chinese brands of vehicles, which have been kept out of the market by regulations, opposition from lawmakers and nearly 100% taxes. Some consumers are planning to get Chinese models across the border to Mexico, where they are popular, or Canada, where their presence is likely to increase after Canada eases trade barriers.

Geely said it provided Edmunds with a vehicle to demonstrate its global technological capabilities, rather than push it to enter the U.S. market. “Geely constantly evaluates global markets, but our current commercial focus for the Galaxy M9 remains in China,” a spokesperson said.

Match pricier competitors

Edmunds got access to the vehicle after connecting with Geely executives at the CES trade show earlier this year, Weaver said. Since new Chinese-brand cars cannot be imported and sold, Edmunds can legally borrow vehicles from Geely and drive them on American roads.

Its employees drove the model for about three weeks in everyday scenarios like going to the grocery store, in addition to a 227-point evaluation of its performance and functionality.

It found that the three-row Galaxy M9 SUV costs more than twice its price rival vehicles, such as a fully loaded Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride or Toyota Grand Highlander. Although the model will undoubtedly be priced higher if it becomes available in the US, Edmunds said it will still be competitive in China at double its current $25,000 starting price.

The Galaxy M9 offers a 30-inch infotainment screen, which Edmunds found to be as responsive as the one in the Tesla. On top of the core tech, the M9 offers the usual frills in Chinese vehicles: a built-in fridge, external speakers and a flip-down entertainment screen for the second row.

The plug-in hybrid’s estimated 808-mile driving range surpasses estimates from similar products arriving soon from U.S. companies. Extended range hybrids like the M9 have large batteries that power the vehicle like an EV and small gasoline engines that act primarily as generators to charge the batteries. The M9 can travel 100 miles on electric power alone before needing a generator, according to Edmunds’ tests.

Chinese automakers have offered extended-range hybrids for years. Major automakers, including Ford and Stellar, are planning to introduce them as an alternative to slow-selling EVs in the US.

China’s ultra-competitive car market has pressured auto makers to roll out increasingly feature-packed models at lower prices, said Tu Le, founder of consultancy Sino Auto Insights. If those options are kept out of the U.S. market, especially as prices rise, buyers will be disappointed, he said.

“We’re seeing some of the most innovative products at the lowest prices, and consumers around the world are benefiting,” Le said. “To put them out 100%, full stop, that’s going to upset people.”

(Reporting by Nora Eckert in Detroit; Editing by Brian Thevenot and David Gaffen)