All about BAIC

On April 15, 2024, EP Manufacturing Bhd (EPMB) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary PEPS-JV (Melaka) Sdn Bhd (PJVM) has entered into a Vehicle Assembly Co-operation Agreement with Baic International Development Co. Ltd (BAIC) to cooperate on the assembly and manufacture of BAIC’s authorized model vehicles in Malaysia.

Under the agreement, which will be effective from April 8, 2024, to April 7, 2034, PJVM, as a vehicle assembler, will also ensure that the assembly plant has an assembly and manufacturing capacity of no less than 5,000 per year before September 1, 2024, and no less than 10,000 units per year before March 1, 2025. 

Meanwhile, BAIC will provide relevant technical support and training as well as guidance and supervision on the assembly and manufacturing process. The Chinese company will also be responsible for the sales and marketing of vehicles in the ASEAN region.

The first BAIC models planned for production were said to be the BJ40 Plus and X55II SUVs.

(From Bursa Malaysia announcement dated April 15, 2024 and an article of Paul Tan on April 16, 2024)

On April 12, BAIC RUS company, the official distributor of BAIC in Russia, started pre-orders for the new BAIC U5 Plus CNG bi-fuel sedan, with a starting price of RUB 2,240,521.

The vehicle is 4,660 mm long, 1,820 mm wide, and 1,480 mm high. The vehicle, depending on the version,  is equipped with one 80-liter or two 39.1-liter cylinders with methane compressed to 200 atmospheres. The base car is also equipped with a wide range of necessary options, as well as passive and active safety systems, including ABS, ESP, hill assist, and a tire pressure monitoring system. The vehicle can drive 1.5 times longer using gasoline and natural gas motor fuel before the next refueling.

The vehicle is developed by Avtotor plant engineers and Gazprom Gas Engine Systems specialists, allowing to refuel the car with both traditional gasoline and economical gas. The gas engine fuel equipment is installed directly at the plant and does not require additional certification. 

Based on BAIC RUS press release

On April 11, Arcfox, a BAIC Group sub-brand, launched the Darwin 2.0 technology system in Beijing, which integrates the following seven contents:

-          Safety: Creates six safety shields, including 360-degree active safety defense, collision standards above global levels, quick rescue response, zero safety risks at high voltages, financial-grade information security protection, and full-lifecycle zero safety performance decay.

-          Health: Eliminates 99.99% of germs, viruses, mites, aldehydes, and benzene with five industry-first original technologies.

-          Battery: Introduces the Aurora 5C super charging battery with zero spontaneous combustion, zero durability degradation, and convenient and fast charging features. The battery can be charged to 80% capacity in 15 minutes in winter. A featured Arcfox model supporting wireless charging is planned for mass production in 2025.

-          Power: Adopts an all-domain 800V silicon carbide architecture and 4^th-generation front and rear motors that generate little heat and dissipate heat quickly. The total power of over 530PS and the 0 to 100km/h acceleration time of 3.7 seconds are comparable to those of the Porsche 911 sports car.

-          Cockpit: Available with features such as a 7.1.4 panoramic sound field; amplifiers with a power of over 2kW; an active noise reduction technology; and 6A comfort grade seats.

-          Chassis: Has been tuned for all domains and scenarios. Integrates intelligent systems such as intelligent braking and steering systems. Handles various environments with ease.

-          Intelligence: Employs configurations such as the Lingzhi OS next-generation intelligent cockpit system, 3 LiDARs, and 34 high-performance perception hardware devices, delivering an ultra-high computing power of 400TOPs. Establishes a complete vehicle-cloud ecosystem. Covers requirements in all scenarios.

Furthermore, Arcfox unveiled the new Polaris platform under the Darwin 2.0 system. The platform, the first high-end flagship electric platform developed in house by BAIC Group based on the IMC (Intelligent Module Criterion) architecture, incorporates the homologous design of the Mercedes-Benz MRA (Modular Rear Architecture) platform and will mainly be used in the development of mid-to-large-size and mid-to-high-end models.

From Arcfox press releases 1/2