Another Chinese luxury brand spied testing in Australia

Australia could soon receive another premium Chinese automotive brand, with a right-hand drive Avatr spied testing Down Under.

The Avatr 07 mid-size SUV was spied in the Melbourne suburb of Point Cook by Matthew Gough. The vehicle was covered in camouflage externally, but had a largely undisguised interior.

Avatr is part-owned by Changan, one of the largest automakers in China and the owner of the Deepal brand sold here, which reportedly confirmed last year the luxury brand is heading to Australia.

It’s unclear if Inchcape will also handle distribution, as it does with Deepal. We’ve contacted the importer for clarification.

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Avatr isn’t wholly owned by Changan, though it has the largest stake at around 41 per cent. CATL holds around nine per cent.

The brand also is closely tied with tech giant Huawei, which supplies it with technology.

It started producing its first vehicles in 2022, and has launched a new model each year since – all with either electric or extended-range electric (EREV) powertrains.

The spied prototype is an 07, which was launched in 2024 and is currently Avatr’s smallest SUV. It slots in under the Avatr 11, which is only slightly larger but which has more of a coupe SUV-style body, as well as a higher base price.

Both SUVs are already produced in right-hand drive for markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

The 07 could serve as the Avatr brand’s rival to the Zeekr 7X in Australia, as well as premium electric SUVs such as the Audi Q6 e-tron, Lexus RZ and Cadillac Optiq.

Avatr has more passenger cars than SUVs, with the mid-size 06 sedan and recently revealed 06T wagon slotting in under the flagship 12 large sedan.

The 07 SUV measures 4825mm long, 1980mm wide and up to 1620mm tall on a 2940mm wheelbase, making it 33mm longer, 2mm narrower and 4mm lower than the Tesla Model Y on a 50mm longer wheelbase.

In China, it’s offered with a choice of two powertrains.

The pure electric version uses an 82.16kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and a single, rear-mounted electric motor with 252kW of power and 365Nm of torque. The claimed 0-100km/h time is 6.3 seconds.

An 800V electrical system supports a 30-80 per cent DC fast-charge in 10 minutes, while total range is 650km on the CLTC cycle.

In Hong Kong and Singapore, Avatr also lists a dual-motor all-wheel drive variant with total outputs of 440kW and 645Nm, and 545km of range on the NEDC cycle – down 30km on the rear-wheel drive version.

The EREV uses a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, a smaller 39.05kWh LFP battery and a slightly less powerful (231kW/333Nm) electric motor.

It weighs slightly less at 2225kg, compared to 2315kg for the EV, but takes longer to hit 100km/h from standstill with a sprint time of 6.6 seconds.

All 07s ride on double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension, with brake-by-wire technology from Continental and either 20- or 21-inch alloy wheels.

The all-wheel drive 07 Ultra EV features automatic-levelling air suspension with continuous damping control.

Open the doors – which feature frameless windows and soft-close functionality – and the centrepiece is a 35.4-inch pillar-to-pillar screen. A smaller 15.6-inch touchscreen sits closer to the driver, and the 07 runs Huawei’s HarmonyOS Cockpit operating system.

Inside, there’s a digital rear-view mirror, a panoramic glass roof with a power sunshade, ambient lighting, a 50W wireless phone charger, 16-speaker 1408W Meridian sound system, heated and power-adjustable steering wheel, and 16-way power-adjustable front seats with heating, ventilation and massage.

The interior can be had with ‘microfibre leather’ trim for the seats and steering wheel, and ‘high-grade fabric’ trim for the headliner, with Nappa upholstery and Dinamica microfibre suede headliner trim available.

A total of three millimetre-wave radar, 10 high-definition cameras and 12 ultrasonic radars help power the Huawei Qiankun ADS SE assisted driving system.

There’s a full suite of active safety and driver assist technology including remote parking assist, a surround-view camera with a transparent chassis mode, front and rear cross-traffic assist and a Level 2+ autonomous driving system.

Avatr’s extensive use of Huawei software raises questions as to whether there will be any changes to its suite of technology in Australia, where the tech giant has been banned from our 5G network.

Changan-developed vehicles are already available in Australia, not only in Deepal showrooms (the E07 Multitruck and S07) but also, soon, in Mazda showrooms.

The Chinese giant has a joint venture with Mazda, with the upcoming 6e and CX-6e developed by Changan Mazda.

When Avatr launches here, it’ll join a growing contingent of premium Chinese brands as automakers from the world’s biggest auto market continue to expand their focus from cheap and cheerful offerings.

BYD commenced deliveries of vehicles from its Denza brand this year, while Geely’s Zeekr brand is enjoying sales success with its 7X mid-size electric SUV and has more expensive SUVs in the pipeline for our market.

MORE: Luxury electric car brand Avatr targeting right-hand drive markets