Chinese budget brand previews PHEV people mover ahead of Australian launch

Forthing has previewed an upcoming new model at this week's Everything Electric show in Sydney, and it's set to become the Chinese brand's second model in Australia when it's launched here sometime over the next 18 months.

A left-hand drive example of the Forthing Tk7 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) people mover appeared on the show floor, though Forthing has also indicated it'll launch an electric version.

Forthing plans to follow up the people mover range with a larger SUV in 2028, plus another, unspecified model.

The people mover measures 4838mm long, 1898mm wide and 1747mm tall, and has a 2060kg kerb weight. That makes it considerably smaller than the top-selling Kia Carnival and closer in size to the defunct Honda Odyssey, measuring 17mm shorter, 78mm wider and 37mm taller.

The vehicle exhibited at Everything Electric is a PHEV, though this powertrain has yet to be detailed.

When it's launched here, however, it'll join a small but growing number of PHEV people movers, including the BYD M9 and GAC M8.

The electric Tk7, recently launched in China under the Xinghai V6 nameplate, features a 135kW/260Nm single-motor front-wheel drive powertrain.

It's available with either 45.5kWh or 60.5kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries with CLTC range figures of 400km and 510km respectively.

The people mover features MacPherson strut front and torsion-beam rear suspension.

The Xinghai V6 seats six, and interior features include a 14.6- or 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen and an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster. There's also a full suite of active safety and driver-assist technology sourced from Huawei, including adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and automatic parking.

There's more competition in the electric people mover segment in Australia, but the Forthing model is expected to undercut its rivals – at least if pricing of the brand's debut model, formerly known as the Taikon 5, is anything to go by.

The unnamed medium SUV has just been launched in Australia, and is now the country's cheapest mid-size electric SUV, while its extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) variant is now the cheapest EREV of any kind in the Australian market.

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