General Motors’ SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture has just revealed official renderings of a station wagon. It is called the Wuling Starlight, and it looks every inch a model that America wished it had.
Station wagons are losing ground in a market where all customers want are crossovers, SUVs, and pickup trucks. However, with the design being one of the most important factors when buying a car, this wagon might stand a chance.
General Motors has unveiled the first design images of the Wuling Starlight, a future variant of the midsize new energy vehicle (NEV) that debuted last year as a sedan built exclusively for the Chinese market. The sedan is available as both a plug-i hybrid and a fully electric vehicle, so we can expect the same from the wagon.
The model has not been confirmed for production yet. But with the joint venture's intentions of rolling out several body styles of the model, this should only be a matter of time.
Otherwise, why would they release renderings of the vehicle unless they were planning to put it into production sooner or later? The move might also be their way of researching the market and checking how much interest such a model would spark.
As expected, the wagon sports a muscular and aerodynamic shape and follows the front-end design of the sedan. It has the exact same front fascia, with an LED strip connecting the super slim headlights above the grille that supports the brand's logo.
Photo: Wuling | General Motors
The elongated roofline flows into a rear end that gives Kia EV6 vibes, with an LED strip stretching across the back. The images show the vehicle with a sleek cargo box up on the roof.
There are no renderings from inside the cabin, but that should mimic the one of the sedan, which sports a simple layout, integrating a digital instrument cluster and a touchscreen controlling most of the functions.
The car showing up in the renderings rides on wheels with different designs, which is an indication that customers will have various options to choose from when (if) the time comes.
The model sports the Black Warrior styling package, which darkens out all the chrome elements, making it look sober and stylish, like something America would absolutely love. General Motors has not offered a station wagon in the United States since the five-door Buick Regal TourX, which came with the sixth generation of the model, in 2018. It was Buick's first station wagon in 22 years.
In China, Wuling sells the Starlight sedan at a price starting at 88,800 yuan, which is the equivalent of only 12,475. So, the station wagon should not be much more expensive. We can only hope that these digital images will soon turn into a production model.
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