Stelato S9 Real Photo (Source: @SugarDesign)
Appearance-wise, the Stelato S9 is equipped with electronic external mirrors and a more luxurious overall styling. According to public information released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the S9 comes in two battery capacities, 79.9kWh and 97.6kWh, with a CLTC range of 672 km, 816 km and 665 km, respectively. The 665 km version is the dual motor four-wheel drive version. The range is comparable to the ET7 100kWh version with 675 km CLTC.
Stelato S9 Profile/Back View (Source: Stelato)
The Stelato S9 measures 5,160mm in length, 1,987mm in width, and 1,486mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,050mm. The vehicle is equipped with a Huawei electric motor with a peak power of 227 kW on the RWD version and 158 kW + 227 kW (total of 385 kW) on the dual-motor version. For comparison, the ET7 dimensions are 5,101/1,987/1,509mm with a wheelbase of 3,060mm and front + rear motor peak power of 180 kW + 300 kW (total of 480 kW).
Can HIMA help SAIC compete in the 500k segment?
In the pure electric segment, the Stelato S9 will compete with the NIO ET7, Mercedes-Benz EQE and BMW i5, starting at 428,000 RMB, 478,000 RMB and 439,900 RMB, respectively. In 2023, the ET7 and EQE sold 5,643 and 8,779 vehicles, respectively. It will certainly be interesting to see if the Stelato S9 can carve a significant share of this flagship BEV segment.
Electrification has yet an answer for BBA premium executive segment
However, just like the NIO ET7, the Stelato S9 has its sights on the BBA combustion engine market, which is still heavily dominated by the likes of the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6L in the flagship executive sedan segment. Sales volume of the three BBA models hovers around the 30,000 level monthly and no premium EV models have been able to carve a sizeable share.