The Kaola model attracts visitors at the Arcfox booth at the Shanghai auto show held from April 18 to 27, 2023. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Arcfox, the premium electric marque of BAIC Group, is scheduled to launch up to seven scenario-based models by 2024 to find its niche in China’s increasingly competitive NEV market.
Dai Kangwei, president of BAIC BluePark that owns Arcfox, said “Each of our models will be built based on our understanding of specific groups of customers and offer them our solutions.”
Arcfox unveiled its Kaola model earlier this year, which is the first across the NEV sector designed for families with newborns.
The model, which is expected to hit the market this year, has a number of features that make it easier for new parents to ensure their kids are comfortable and safe in the car, including foldable seats that facilitate the changing of diapers.
The marque is also planning to increase the coverage of its sales network. There will be 279 outlets by the end of 2023 and the figure will increase to over 380 by 2025, available in 100 cities in the country.
Arcfox sold over 2,300 vehicles in March, up 212 percent year-on-year and up 273 percent from February.
Dai said the primary goal for 2023 is to scale up sales of Arcfox, with new editions of its Alpha S and T as well as the Kaola.
Last year, Arcfox vehicles accounted for 1.3 percent of China’s NEV market, up from 0.8 percent in 2021.
The marque said its share grew last year in all its seven core target cities including Beijing and in 16 of 19 major cities including Qingdao in Shandong province and Fuzhou in Fujian province.
Deliveries from Arcfox stood at 12,623 units in 2022, up 110 percent year-on-year, faster than the NEV sector’s average growth rate of 93.4 percent, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
They helped drive BluePark’s total deliveries of electric vehicles to 50,179 units in 2022, up 92.06 percent year-on-year.
The Shanghai-listed company’s operating revenue reached 9.51 billion yuan ($137.8 million) in the year, up 9.4 percent year-on-year.