The Kaliningrad plant Avtotor and the Chinese auto concern BAIC today officially announced their cooperation and launched two models — the X35 subcompact crossover and the compact sedan U5 Plus, they will go on sale soon, the prices are already known. Also on the freshly baked Russian website BAIC are prices and equipment for the mid-size frame SUV BJ40 Plus, and this year the Chinese brand will launch seven new products in our country, including one electric car.
Backstage about the preparation of cooperation between Avtotor and BAIC was known at the end of last year, today the official launch of the project took place and its scale, admittedly, is impressive. Recall that at the beginning of the year, Avtotor already launched the first model from the Kaiyi line into production — this is a separate, parallel project that has nothing to do with BAIC, the capacity of the Kaliningrad plant (250 thousand cars a year) makes it possible to cooperate with different brands, this was the case even before the beginning of well-known geopolitical events.
The Chinese state-owned automaker BAIC will operate in Russia through BAIK RUS LLC, the official Russian website of the BAIC brand has been launched (in China, the concern sells cars mainly under the Beijing brand), on which you can find prices and trim levels of three models — X35, U5 Plus and BJ40 Plus.
The production of X35 and U5 Plus has already been established at Avtotor, the degree of localization is still low, but it is planned to quickly increase it: at the first stage, batteries, glasses, bumpers, washer reservoirs, wheels, tires, seats, exhaust systems and a number of other components will become Russian. In 2024, Avtotor wants to «arrange full-cycle production with welding and body painting, followed by the localization of paint and varnish materials and stamping.» as long as there is only one outlet in Moscow, million-plus cities will be covered first. Sales should begin in the second quarter of this year, that is, as soon as possible.
Now let's move on to the machines themselves. In China, the BAIC/Beijing lineup is divided into two parts (they have different consumer sites) — conditionally off-road and conditionally passenger, and in Russia everything will be in one place, that is, at one plant and on one site. This year, BAIC wants to bring 7 models to the Russian market, including the U5 plus sedan, X35, X55 and X7 crossovers, BJ40 Plus and BJ60 frame SUVs — these new items have already been announced on the Russian BAIC website, and a certain electric car will be the seventh novelty — which not yet announced.
BAIC X35 1/4 BAIC X35 2/4 BAIC X35 3/4 BAIC X35 4/4
The BAIC X35 is known in China as the BAIC X3 — it is a subcompact crossover, it appeared on the home market back in 2016, we have localized a restyled version of the 2019 sample, which BAIC is serving as the second generation. Overall length BAIC X35 — 4325 mm, width — 1830 mm, height — 1640 mm, wheelbase — 2570 mm, ground clearance — 180 mm, trunk volume — 390 liters. It turns out that the BAIC X35 is a little more compact than the Moskvich 3 (length — 4410 mm, base — 2620 mm), but they clearly have the same target audience.
BAIC X35 1/3 BAIC X35 2/3 BAIC X35 3/3Two petrol engines are offered for the BAIC X35 to choose from: a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated (116 hp, 148 Nm) is paired with a 5-speed «mechanics», a supercharged engine of the same volume (150 hp). , 210 Nm) is docked with the variator, the drive is only the front. The price range is from 1,698,900 to 2,139,900 rubles. Standard equipment includes ABS, two frontal airbags, air conditioning, an 8-inch multimedia system, a 4-speaker audio system, a rear-view camera, rear parking sensors, 16-inch alloy wheels.
BAIC U5 Plus 1/4 BAIC U5 Plus 2/4 BAIC U5 Plus 3/4 BAIC U5 Plus 4/4 which is indicated by the prefix Plus in the title. Overall length U5 Plus — 4660 mm, width — 1820 mm, height — 1480 mm, wheelbase — 2670 mm, ground clearance — 155 mm, trunk volume — 430 l.
BAIC U5 Plus 1/2 BAIC U5 Plus 2/2
In Russia, the U5 Plus is announced only with a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated petrol (113 hp, 142 Nm) paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a CVT. The price range is from 1,699,900 to 1,889,900 rubles. The basic equipment of the sedan includes ESP, two frontal airbags, air conditioning, leatherette seat upholstery, a 7-inch instrument screen, a multimedia system with a 12.3-inch screen, an audio system with two speakers, a rearview camera, rear parking sensors, 16-inch cast wheels.
BAIC BJ40 Plus 1/4 BAIC BJ40 Plus 2/4 BAIC BJ40 Plus 3/4 BAIC BJ40 Plus 4/4
The BAIC BJ40 Plus frame SUV has not yet been localized on Avtotor, but the ruble price has already been set for it — 3,759,900 rubles. In China, the BJ40 has been produced since 2013 and is an analogue of the American Jeep Wrangler, the Plus prefix indicates a restyled 5-door version of the 2019 sample. The front suspension of the «Chinese» is independent, spring, on double wishbones, at the rear — a continuous axle on springs. BJ40 Plus overall length — 4630 mm, width — 1925 mm, height — 1871 mm, wheelbase — 2745 mm, ground clearance — 210 mm, approach angle — 37 degrees, departure angle — 31 degrees, ramp angle — 23 degrees, depth ford — 750 mm, trunk volume — 532 l.
BAIC BJ40 Plus 1/2 BAIC BJ40 Plus 2/2
The BJ40 Plus will have only one power unit in Russia: a 2.0-liter petrol turbo engine (225 hp, 380 Nm) paired with an 8-speed ZF hydromechanical automatic transmission. Four-wheel drive — part-time type, with a rigidly connected front axle. Flagship's only package includes ESP, roll-over prevention system, hill-climbing assistance, dual frontal airbags, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, heated steering wheel, leatherette seat upholstery, 12.3-inch instrument screen, 10- inch multimedia screen, audio system with 7 speakers and subwoofer, rear view camera, rear parking sensors, removable plastic roof, side steps, 17-inch alloy wheels.
Updated BAIC X7
The X55 and X7 crossovers announced on the Russian BAIC website are related models that will be offered in Russia with a 1.5-liter gasoline turbo engine (188 hp .) and a 7-speed «automatic» type DCT (with two clutches). The overall length of the X55 is 4620 mm, the wheelbase is 2735 mm, for the X7 the corresponding dimensions are 4745 mm and 2800 mm. The rest of the details have not yet been disclosed. We only add that the X7 crossover underwent restyling at the end of last year in its homeland.
BAIC BJ60 1/3 BAIC BJ60 2/3 BAIC BJ60 3/3
BJ60 frame SUV (overall length — 5020 mm , wheelbase — 2820 mm) will come to Russia with a 2.0-liter petrol turbo engine (266 hp) and an 8-speed «automatic». BJ60, obviously, will be the most expensive and status in the Russian scale, while in China the role of the flagship is performed by the Mercedes-like Beijing BJ90.