Hall 2 Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre played host to the International EV Show which showcased brands both familiar and unknown. Apart from auto brands like Audi, Peugeot and KIA, newcomers XPENG and Deepal, join ZEEKR, GWM and Smart to be among others to make an appearance.
Highlights include a large gathering of Segway-Ninebot personal transport options, and XPENG’s drone large enough for a brave human to have a go. I’m not sure how fool-hardy a bloke would have to be but this little black duck is not for flying.
ZEEKR and fellow Geely brand, Volvo, bring a sleek collection vehicles that mashes the familiarity of the Swede with the brashness of Chinese upstart, ZEEKR. Volvo’s XC30, C40, and ZEEKR 009, 001 FR, X, and the delicious 007 are both classy and elegant. Shared technology is used in slightly different ways to great effect. The simple and stylish cabins seem a world away from their cluttered ICE cousins.
ABOVE: XPENG X2 and other International EV Show brands
The Volvo EX30 and C40 we’ve reviewed at length so it is the ZEEKR brand that we’re looking forward to seeing on local roads. The fledgling brand is a company of a single person, as least in Australia. Andrew Haurissa, late of Chery, is charged with creating a network of staff, service and sales in record time. If the ZEEKR X and ZEEKR 007 are anything to go by, we should see a comfortable place carved into a niche shared with premium cousin Volvo.
XPENG’s X9, G6 and G9 are in the people-mover/SUV segment, but it is the XPENG Voyager X2 personal copter that fan the spark of imagination into a blazing inferno. Of the many vehicles available for show-goers to experience, the X2 is not one of them
Specifications:
- Aircraft type: eVTOL multicopter
- Piloting: Autonomous
- Capacity: 2 passengers
- Maximum speed: 130 km/h (81 mph)
- Flight Time: 35 minutes
- Cruise altitude: 300-500 m (984-1,640 ft)
- Empty weight: 360 kg (794 lb)
- Maximum takeoff weight: 560 kg (1,235 lb)
- Propellers: 8 propellers
- Electric Motors: 8 electric motors
- Power source: Batteries
- Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
- Windows: Canopy over cockpit
- Landing gear: Fixed skid landing gear
- Safety Features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers and motors on the aircraft so if one or more motors or propellers fail, the other working motors and propellers can safely land the aircraft. The aircraft has multiple redundant systems, spherical environment detection, autonomous return and landing, ground monitoring, real time video, omnidirectional camera, an emergency ballistic parachute and more
Vehicles available to test-drive:
Ford, Mach-E Select
Ford, Mach-E GT
Ford, Mach-E Premium
Kia, EV9 GT-Line
Kia, EV6 GT
Kia, EV5 Earth
XPENG, G6
Tesla, Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive
Tesla, Model Y Performance
Tesla, Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive
Tesla, Model 3 Performance
Peugeot, ePartner van
Subaru Solterra
Smart, #1
Smart, #3
GWM, Ora GT EV
GWM, Tank 500 Ultra Hybrid
GWM, Haval Jolion Ultra Hybrid
Cupra, Born
Chery, OMODA E5
