Electric Vehicle Expo (EVx) is back for the second year and the event will once again take place at the Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam. Happening this weekend (22nd to 23rd July), it is a perfect place to learn and have hands-on experience with numerous electric vehicles (EVs) that are available in Malaysia.
Opens from 9 AM to 7 PM with no entrance fee, the EVx 2023 is organised by automotive news site paultan.org and several new EVs will be making their public debut in Malaysia at the event. Yes, the newly launched Tesla Model Y will be there but you may want to take this opportunity to broaden your horizon by checking out these spanking new non-Tesla EVs as well.
BYD Dolphin
The BYD Dolphin is set to become the brand’s second EV offering in our market after the Atto 3 which proved to be a massive hit in Malaysia. Ahead of its official Malaysian launch on 27 July, the new EV will be making appearance at EVx.
In the fact, the Dolphin has been roaming around Klang Valley for the past few days. However, its body has been covered with an ocean-themed body wrap that also has “A New Wave Is Coming” tagline on both sides of the car.
Since the launch event will be taking place next week, we are not sure if BYD would reveal its compact EV in full. We reckon that it might be partially wrapped to save the best for its grand launch.
Built with a 70kW (95hp) electric motor that can deliver 180Nm of torque, the Standard Range version of the Dolphin can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 12.3 seconds. This variant offers a WLTP range of 340km, with the help of its 44.9kWh BYD Blade battery pack.
On the other hand, the Dolphin Extended Range comes with a 60.48kWh battery pack which helps it deliver a better WLTP range of 427km. This variant has a quicker century sprint timing of 7 seconds, thanks to a more powerful 150kW (204hp) electric motor with 310Nm of torque.
While both variants come standard with an onboard 7kW AC charger, DC charging support for the Standard Range variant maxes out at 60kW while the Extended Range option can go as high as 80kW. However, it is not yet known at the moment which Dolphin variant that will be made available in Malaysia.
Hyundai Ioniq 6
The arrival of Ioniq 6 will make the expansion of Hyundai’s EV offerings in Malaysia which currently consisted of Kona Electric and Ioniq 5. Despite the name, the 6 is a sedan instead of a SUV.
Featuring a 77.4kWh battery pack, the Ioniq 6 Long Range RWD variant really lives up to its name with a WLTP range of 614km. The EV also relies on a 168kW (228hp) electric motor with 350Nm of torque to deliver 0-100km/h sprint timing of 7.4 second.
There is also the Ioniq 6 Standard Range which still comes with a single motor rear-wheel drive setup but has a smaller 53kWh battery pack and shorter WLTP range at 429km. The electric motor also produces lower amount of output at 111kW (151hp) but still has the same 350Nm of torque.
Performance-oriented individuals can look forward to have their hands on the Ioniq 6 AWD variant which has a dual-motor setup that can deliver a total output of 239kW (325hp) and 605Nm of torque. This model also has the ability to go from 0 to 100km/h in 5.1 seconds.
The AWD option has similar battery capacity as per its Long Range RWD counterpart at 77.4kWh although its WLTP range is slightly shorter at 583km. Despite their battery capacity, power output and torque, all three Ioniq 6 variants have similar top speed of 185km/h.
Another highlight of Ioniq 6 would be its charging capability. Thanks to its 800V architecture, Hyundai claimed that it takes just 18 minutes to charge Ioniq 6 from 10% to 80% when using a 350kW DC fast charger.
That being said, do note maximum DC power that the Ioniq 6 can accept is roughly about 230kW and it takes around one hour of charging time with a 50KW DC fast to achieve the same state of charge. As for AC charging, the Ioniq 6 has an onboard 11kW AC charger.
At the moment, we do know that the Long-Range RWD and AWD models will be offered in Malaysia given the teasers from Hyundai Sime Darby Motors. All shall be revealed this evening at the Ioniq 6’s Malaysian launch event, so make sure to stay tuned.
Smart #1
Another EV that will be making its first public debut in Malaysia at EVx 2023 is the Smart #1. Co-developed by Mercedes-Benz and Geely, it will be interesting to see how the Malaysian consumers react to this EV.
The standard Smart #1 (pronounced “hashtag one”) has a rear-wheel drive setup with a 200kW (268hp) electric motor. With 343Nm of torque available to the driver to tap on, the electric SUV can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 6.7 seconds and has a top speed of 180km/h.
The model’s 66kWh battery pack enables the standard Smart #1 to deliver a WLTP range of 440km. It takes the EV less than 30 minutes to go from 10% to 80% when plugged into a 150kW DC fast charger while it also has an onboard 22kW AC charger.
On the other hand, the Brabus version is equipped with a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup instead. This allows it to have more firepower with a total output of 315kW (422hp) alongside 543Nm of torque.
This variant can also go from 0 to 100km/h much quicker at 3.9 seconds. Since it still has the same 66kWh battery pack, the Smart #1 Brabus edition has a lower WLTP range of 400km though.
Even though it is going to be shown to the public this weekend, the exact launch date for the Smart #1 is still a mystery. The only indication that we have from Pro-Net so far is that it will be available in Q4 this year.
