Sar Mecha Dragon Set to Return to Vietnam, Taking on Porsche Taycan, Mercedes-Benz EQS
In February 2024, a “new but old” Chinese car model called Sar Mecha Dragon was registered for design protection in Vietnam. This model is expected to compete with the Porsche Taycan and Mercedes-Benz EQS sedans. This is not the first time that the Sar Mecha Dragon name has been registered, as it was previously protected as an industrial design in October 2022.
The return of this car has sparked speculations that it will soon be available in Vietnam, especially since its parent company, Great Wall Motor (GWM), has officially scheduled the launch of its electric sedan in China.
If the Sar Mecha Dragon arrives in Vietnam, it will join the same segment as the Porsche Taycan and Mercedes-Benz EQS sedans.
A Promising Start
When it debuted at the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show in China, the Sar Mecha Dragon, manufactured by Great Wall Motor (GWM), immediately attracted a lot of attention. Firstly, its SUV-like design impressed with its ruggedness. Secondly, the price of 488,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately 1.67 billion Vietnamese Dong) was unusual for the Chinese car market, except for some Hongqi models targeting the luxury segment.
To justify its price, the Sar Mecha Dragon was the world’s first car to have four radar lasers, ultrasonic radar, and level 2 autonomous driving technology.
In 2022, the Sar Mecha Dragon obtained copyright registration and sales permission from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Everything was ready for production, but GWM unexpectedly postponed the launch until 2024.
A Challenge for China’s Leading SUV Manufacturer
The Sar Mecha Dragon is not a typical GWM vehicle. The Chinese conglomerate is renowned for its SUVs and pickup trucks. GWM has been the leader in the domestic SUV market since 2015, with the Haval H6 being the best-selling SUV in China for two consecutive years.
The sudden shift to electric cars, led by the Sar Mecha Dragon, may have caused difficulties in developing hardware for GWM.
In its comeback in 2024, the Sar Mecha Dragon will be part of the Ora lineup. This is quite an unusual choice, as Ora is a sub-brand known for its soft and even feminine designs within GWM. Sar Mecha Dragon might be chosen to bring the masculine characteristics of GWM’s design to this brand’s lineup.
A Sedan with SUV Influences
As mentioned earlier, the Sar Mecha Dragon features a sedan with SUV-inspired design, with its boxy and angular lines evident in most areas. The front of the car has a grille and matrix LED headlights. The interior, which has been partially revealed, includes an intelligent driving solution provided by Momenta and Huawei’s smart cockpit.
The Sar Mecha Dragon has a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system with 536 horsepower and 673 Nm of torque, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in under 3 seconds. It is equipped with a 115 kWh battery, providing an estimated range of 800 km per charge.