The Chinese branch office of Buick has disclosed the first details about the upcoming Electra L7 sedan, billed as the flagship of the low-emission Electra lineup for China. Poised to go on sale before the end of the month, it is a range-extender hybrid with exceptionally comfortable seats and a premium interior.
Some of you may remember that the full-size saloon was initially scheduled for release in 2024. Apparently, the automaker had a change of plans and decided to release a hybrid variant first. It remains unknown whether the battery-electric version is still in the plans or not anymore.
According to the updated spec sheet, the car relies on a 343-PS (338-hp / 252-kW) e-motor for propulsion. A 1.5-liter engine produces 156 PS (154 hp / 115 kW) and 230 Nm (170 lb-ft) of torque, but doesn’t do much with it other than charge the battery on board. The car sprints 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 5.9 seconds and gets up to 302 km (188 miles) of all-electric range out of its 40.2-kWh battery pack. It’s an Ultium pack developed by General Motors, by the way.
Coming in at 5,032 x 1,952 x 1,500 mm large with a three-meter wheelbase, the Electra L7 is larger than the local Toyota Camry. It has a rather posh interior with a 10.25-inch dash display, a 15.6-inch head unit, a 50-inch HUD and up to 27 audio speakers. The front passenger’s seat is billed as “particularly deluxe” and can be adjusted from the infotainment display, using dedicated physical buttons, or via voice commands.
The system runs on “high-performance hardware”, Buick says, and utilizes a LiDAR alongside many cameras and radars for a semi-autonomous driving experience. The software comes from Chinese IT startup Momenta.
Back in the spring this year, Buick announced “up to six” fully electric and hybrid vehicles coming to the Electra lineup in a year. This implies that the company still has five new models to reveal over the course of the next six months or so.
