Tesla Model 3, Better Watch Out! Jiyue 07 EV Officially Unveiled as Potential Rival

Internally codenamed "Venus," the liftback is the result of the collaboration between Geely and Baidu. Officially unveiled in China, it already received the iF Design Award 2023 and became the Red Dot 2023 car design winner.

The model will go into production in early 2024 and will hit the market sometime next summer. The car is underpinned by Geely’s SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) platform. It is the same architecture that the Volvo EX90 SUV and EX30 crossover, as well as the Polestar 4 are also based on. The car carries over self-driving technology from Baidu, based on cameras and radars, but there is no LiDAR sensor in sight.

Jiyue was founded in March 2021 as Jidu, a joint venture between Baidu and Geely, with the former owning 55 percent of the shares and Geely owning the rest. However, the joint venture failed to get mass-production permission from the Chinese government, which led to the restructuring of the company.

Following the restructuring, the entity changed its name to Jiyue. Now, Geely holds 65 percent of the stake. The Chinese auto giant is responsible for manufacturing, while Baidu manages the software, ADAS, and connectivity onboard.

Jiyue rolled out the first model, the 01 SUV, codenamed "Mars," back on October 27, with deliveries kicking off two days later. The second one, which was presumably called the 02, will actually be the 07, and will hit the market next year.

The model was previewed by the Jidu Robo-02 concept car, which was shown at the Guangzhou Auto Show in 2022 as a mid-size liftback with a sleek silhouette, fender flares, and a low belt line. Buttons mounted on the B- and C-pillars replace the conventional door handles.

There are Y-shaped LED headlights at the front, similar to what we have already seen on the Jiyue 01 crossover. The 02 will also get a large panoramic roof, an active spoiler at the back, and an LED strip connecting the boomerang-shaped rear lights.

The model showing up in the official photos rides on five-spoke design wheels, but there will be other wheel designs available in the lineup.

The Jiyue 07 will mimic the powertrains of the 01 SUV. The lineup will start with the single-motor, rear-wheel drive variant with 268 horsepower. This variant is equipped with a 71.4-kWh LFP battery pack.

Meanwhile, the range-topping all-wheel drive will get a two-motor setup, one mounted on the front axle and another one installed at the back. This all-wheel drive variant will get 536 horsepower, while the energy will be stored in a 100-kWh NMC battery pack.