Huawei and BAIC plan to sell 120,000 units of the Stelato S9 high-end electric car yearly, starting from 2025. This car aims to rival the Mercedes-Benz EQS. It will start deliveries in January 2025 with a price range of 450,000 – 550,000 yuan (68,900 – 76,650 USD).
Stelato is a joint project between Huawei and BAIC. In this project, the Chinese IT giant supplies software and certain parts. BAIC is in charge of platform and manufacturing. This model of cooperation is quite common for Huawei. It works with Chery, JAC, and Seres in the same way. Back to Stelato, the first car under this brand is the S9 luxury sedan. Huawei & BAIC have big plans for it.
Stelato S9’s production volume
BAIC BluePark’s (NEV subsidiary of BAIC) internal documents revealed insights about the production volume of the Stelato S9. The mass production of this model will kick off in December 2024 with a capacity of 120,000 units per year. It is an ambitious goal for the car with a starting price of 70K USD.
Previously, the official launch ceremony of the Stelato S9 was scheduled for August this year. Four months before the volume production starts. We reckon that Huawei & BAIC want to reveal the final pricing of their first product and check feedback from potential customers. It is a vital thing to do before the production starts. If they miscalculate the demand for such an expensive car, it will be fatal for the entire project.
The goal of selling 120,000 units of a high-end product under a new name yearly is quite ambitious. However, BAIC & Huawei rely on the IT giant’s sales network. Stelato S9 will be available for purchase in Huawei flagship stores and HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) stores. At the same time, Huawei has proven it can convince people to buy an expensive product by selling 59,539 units of Aito M9 SUV (see specs) from February to June 2024. The starting price of this crossover is 469,800 yuan (64,600 USD). So, the S9’s production volume is reasonable.
Stelato plans
It seems Huawei and BAIC are quite confident in the S9’s success because they are already working on two more cars under the Stelato brand. One of them is the station wagon variant of the S9 sedan. It adopts the same BE22 modular architecture. Since wagons aren’t in demand in China, the second car from Stelato may have strong overseas ambitions.
The third model from Stelato is a luxury SUV. There is no further information about this car. Most likely, it will also share the platform with the Stelato S9. And it won’t be cheap.
More about Stelato S9
Stelato S9 stands on the BAIC BE22 modular architecture. It is a large sedan with dimensions of 5160/1987/1486 mm and a wheelbase of 3050 mm. For clarity, it is 56 mm shorter, 61 mm wider, and 26 mm lower than the Mercedes-Benz EQS. The exterior design of the Stelato S9 stays in line with other Huawei-backed cars like Aito M9 and Luxeed S7 (see specs).
Inside, the S9 adopts a four-seat layout. The center console has a large floating screen, an LCD instrument cluster, and an additional touchscreen for a front passenger. The S9 has optional rear-view cameras. Its second-row adopts two more screens and zero-gravity seats.
The Stelato S9’s powertrain has three options:
- RWD, 227 kW (304 hp), 79.9 kWh LFP battery, 665 km range (CLTC)
- RWD, 227 kW (304 hp), 97.6 kWh ternary NMC battery, 721 km range (CLTC)
- 4WD, 385 kW (516 hp), 97.6 kWh ternary NMC battery, 672 km range (CLTC)
As mentioned, the trims and prices of the Stelato S9 will be revealed in August. However, the mass production of the car starts in December this year. So, the first buyers will likely get their cars in January next year.
Source: BAIC BluePark, MIIT, Weibo
