The Chinese firm Wey, a premium brand under the umbrella of the Great Wall car-making group, has shown off a plug-in hybrid SUV, the Coffee 01, at the Paris Motor Show, and there are hints that it could be coming to Ireland.
Big on tech
Powering the Coffee 01 is a 204hp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine combined with a 40kWh battery and twin electric motors on the front and rear axles to deliver a total output of 503hp and an impressive electric-only range of 150km. The company quotes a five-second 0-100km/h time.
As befits its premium positioning, the Wey Coffee 01 is big on tech, with four interior screens (the main one being a hefty 14.6-inch unit), an augmented reality display, face recognition technology, Wi-Fi and over-the-air software updates. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality are standard.
Wey also plans to introduce another similar vehicle, the Coffee 02, in 2023. The Coffee 02 will also be a plug-in hybrid, though with two-wheel drive with equivalent levels of kit to the Coffee 01 and similar performance figures in some top-of-the-line versions.
Presence in Germany
Up until now, we may have heard little to nothing about the Wey brand in Ireland, but the firm was founded in 2016 with the aim of taking on the German premium brands at their own game and has, to date, sold more than 400,000 cars.
While it often happens that Chinese car-makers announce plans to launch in Europe without ever following through on them, potential customers in Germany can already configure the Coffee 01 through the excellently titled MyWey app, with the brand opening for orders in November to coincide with the opening of the first German sales outlets. The firm says that by the end of the first quarter of 2023, the company's German partner is due to open some 60 outlets across Germany, and the next markets in Wey's sights are Israel and the UK.
Bound for Ireland?
Though the Israeli market isn't especially relevant to Irish buyers, the UK's is, as it means the Wey Coffee 01 is due to be built in right-hand drive. Wey's parent company, Great Wall is soon to re-establish a presence in Ireland (it sold pickups here some years ago) with the arrival of the electric Ora brand and its cute Funky Cat model; with the company's return here due to be handled by International Motors, currently Ireland's Subaru importer, there's a strong (though currently unconfirmed) possibility that the Wey brand and its Coffee 01 plug-in hybrid SUV may reach these shores in the coming years
Currently, pricing in Germany for the fully loaded Coffee 01 starts from €55,900, so with taxes and the cost of imports taken into account, a price of €60,000 or a little north of that is probably a fair guess if or when it ever arrives here.