► A handy guide to Seres EVs
► New choice for Europe’s buyers
► Chinese-American electric cars
There’s a new car brand coming to Europe that you’ll be needing to keep an eye on: Seres. You guessed it: this is another fresh-faced electric car start-up hailing from China, by way of an association with Silicon Valley.
The main shareholder is the Chongqing Sokon Motor Group, a Chinese car maker hailing back to the 1980s which launched the new sub-brand in 2016 to proliferate beyond its domestic borders. Seres is a made-up name whose letters stand for Silicon valley, Electric vehicles and Range extended, apparently.
It has quietly spent much of the past seven years developing its EV proposition, buying an American factory in 2017 and winning an autonomous driving licence in California the following year. You might never have heard of Seres, but through its parent company it already has access to five factories in China and one in Indonesia.
Which might explain why Seres made its European debut at the 2023 IAA Munich motor show, where it caught our eye. Is this a newcomer that’ll stick around? Read on to find out more about the range of Seres electric cars being launched in Europe.
Seres 3 crossover: the lowdown
Information about Seres electric cars was pretty scant. Staff on the IAA stand asked for questions to be emailed to them and could not tell us whether Seres would launch in the UK.
However, the blue Seres 3 on display was built in right-hand drive, which speaks volumes about the brand’s intent. It’s a modestly proportioned crossover shadowing a Renault Captur in size at 4.4m long – a typography well suited to Europe’s mass market.
The Seres 3 has a 54kWh battery with a claimed electric range of 206 miles.
Bigger electric cars: the Seres 5 SUV
Only the smaller car was shown at the IAA in right-hand drive, but a larger pair of left-hookers were also on display. The bigger Seres 5 SUV (below) is 4.7m long and features the now-mandatory Macan-alike full-width light bar at the rear.
It comes in a choice of two or all-wheel drive and has an 80kWh battery, promising a 310-mile range (4wd) or 300 miles (2wd). Spec the dual-motor option and the flagship Seres 5 can sprint from 0-62mph in just 3.7 seconds.
The Seres 7
Topping the range on the IAA stand was the Seres 7: a 5m long luxury SUV, with a plug-in hybrid powertrain mixing a 1.5-litre petrol turbo with a 40kWh battery for a very chunky 109-mile e-range and a total all-fuels range exceeding 600 miles.
We’ll update this Seres electric car guide when we hear more.