Roewe D7: the first-born of the new «green» line debuted as a hybrid and an electric car

Roewe, owned by the Chinese automaker SAIC, has unveiled a new mid-size D7 sedan with a completely faceless appearance, but perhaps it is she who will lead him to success.

Roewe, recall, is a surrogate for the British Rover brand that has sunk into oblivion: after the collapse of the British MG Rover Group in 2005, SAIC successfully took over the MG brand, but could not agree on the acquisition of the Rover brand and instead launched a similar brand Roewe in 2006. In 2020, SAIC created an electric vehicle R sub-brand with its own logo under the Roewe brand, but already in 2021 it turned into a completely independent Rising brand. Now a second attempt has been made to launch a new line of electric vehicles under the Roewe brand, this time under the letter D, its firstborn was the Roewe D7 sedan.

The Roewe D7 is based on the MSP (Modular Scalable Platform) modular platform, which is called the Nebula in China, its new sedan was borrowed from fresh MG brand electric vehicles, while not only electric, but also plug-in hybrid version was originally announced for the Roewe D7. The electric version is called the Roewe D7 EV, the plug-in hybrid is the Roewe D7 DMH. The overall length of the Roewe D7 EV is 4890 mm, the width is 1872 mm, the height is 1510 mm, the wheelbase is 2810 mm. At Roewe D7 DMH the width is increased to 1890 mm due to the traditional, protruding door handles (they are retractable on the electric sedan). The front suspension in both cases is of the MacPherson type, the rear is multi-link. Tire size is 225/50 R 18.

Left — Roewe D7 EV, right — Roewe D7 DMH

In front of the Roewe D7 EV, it is easy to confuse the Nio ET5 and a dozen other fresh Chinese electric vehicles, while, judging by the rather modest technical specifications, the Roewe D7 will be more affordable than most competitors, that is, it will offer an “expensive” design for less money. Roewe D7 DMH has a slightly more conservative design of the front end with a single-story “optics” instead of a two-story one and a larger cutout in the bumper for the internal combustion engine cooling radiator. From the stern, the electric and hybrid versions differ only in nameplates. The interior has not yet been declassified.

Roewe D7 EV 1/3 Roewe D7 EV 2/3 Roewe D7 EV 3/3

Roewe D7 EV is equipped with a single electric motor on the rear axle with a capacity of 145 kW (197 hp) or 155 kW (211 hp). The 197-horsepower version comes with a lithium-iron-phosphate battery (capacity not specified) and can travel 510 km on a single charge on the CLTC cycle. Sedan with a 211 hp engine. a lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt battery is installed, which provides a range of 610 km on a single charge. The top speed of electric sedans is limited to 170 km/h.

1/2 2/2

The Roewe D7 DMH hybrid sedan has a maximum speed ceiling of 185 km/h, and the power plant is located at the front and rotates the front wheels. The power plant includes a 1.5-liter gasoline engine with an output of 82 kW (112 hp) and an electric motor with a power of 150 kW (204 hp).

Roewe D7 DMH 1/2 Roewe D7 DMH 2/2

The Roewe D7 will go on sale in China before the end of this year, with prices yet to be announced. It is possible that this model will be exported under the MG brand, as was the case with the Roewe Ei5 electric station wagon: in Europe it is known as the MG5 Electric.