The Changan CD701 is not magic, but technology. The concept car has been unveiled in China as an SUV that can convert into a pickup truck. It can take you to the opera on a Friday night but can also be the workhorse at the farm house.
Presented at the Changan Automobile Science and Technology Ecological Conference in Chongqing, China, the concept car is equipped with a glass panel mounted over the decklid that can slide over the roof of the vehicle, uncovering the rear and turning it into a load bed.
The concept previews the upcoming production model that Qiyuan will start production of sometime next year. It is a pickup-truck-SUV combo that might be marketed as the E0. It will be built on the company’s SDA smart electric vehicle platform.
The vehicle is 5,000 millimeters long, 1,970 millimeters wide, and 1,630 millimeters high, with the wheelbase measuring 3,100 millimeters.
The SUV that can convert into a pickup truck comes with a relatively minimalist design. The front fascia integrates the C-shaped LED daytime running lights and small headlights.
Because we are dealing with an EV, there is no traditional radiator grille, but a display that shows information about the battery percentage and range. That is also where the name of the model will show up when there is no other information to display. The front bumper also sports D-shaped LEDs.
Photo: Changan
When you look at it from the side, the concept car displays somewhat of an odd design. It rides on massive wheels, it does not have any door handles, it has cameras instead of side mirrors and the roofline and rear window stretch backward into a decklid. It is that decklid that slides over the roof, a move that covers the vehicle into a pickup truck.
There is a semi-circular LED light bar at the rear and a display similar to the one located at the front.
The bizarre lines of the exterior stop out there, as the cabin is quite traditional. There is a big-size touchscreen display, while the flat-bottomed steering wheel brings along a sporty atmosphere.
Changan will equip the vehicle with an in-house developed autonomous charging function, plus automatic searching for charging stations and voice interactions.
The future SUV-pickup-truck should enter production sometime next year and hit the market towards the end of 2024 as a 2025 model year under the official name E0, if the Chinese manufacturer does not change its mind.
Quiyuan plans to launch ten new cars by 2025. This year, they have already sold 1.633 million cars, marking an 11.43% increase compared to the same period of last year. According to a report from Car News China, Changan is targeting a 5-million annual vehicle sales target, with Qiyuan providing 1.5 million of them.
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