China’s Skywell isn’t aiming for the stars in Australian EV sales race
Skywell may be unknown to most Australians, but this Chinese brand is the latest looking to bring electric SUVs to Australia.
The Skywell ET5 – also known as the EVA 5 and BE11 – is due in Australia in the first quarter of 2025.
It’s being imported by Brisbane-based firm EV Automotive, an Australian company with five years of experience importing Skywell vans.
While it occupies the same market as the Tesla Model Y, Australia’s best-selling EV, and the BYD Atto 3, EV Automotive CEO Jack Puzin says the company’s sales targets for Skywell’s passenger vehicles are “extremely modest”.
“Our directors have been very conscious that we’re breaking into a new market,” Mr Puzin told CarExpert.
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“I won’t give you numbers, but our sales targets are super modest, and we’re just pacing ourselves as we build the aeroplane and fly it at the same time.
“We’re setting ourselves up at shopping centres and retaining spaces so people can come and feel it, touch it, look at it and test drive it.
“As the business evolves, we’ll build out more and more capability, but right now we’re a direct sales model.”
Like BYD, which launched here in 2022 through EVDirect, EV Automotive is outsourcing servicing of its vehicles to MyCar (formerly Kmart Tyre and Auto) while it establishes itself locally, leaning on the firm’s wide-ranging locations in Australia.
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While EV Automotive will launch with a direct sales model for the ET5, Mr Puzin said the company is undergoing market testing for dealers, though this is yet to be finalised.
Details such as warranty length for the Skywell ET5 are also yet to be finalised, however it’s likely EV Automotive will target the five-year market which is a relative industry standard, though unlimited kilometre coverage may not come into play.
Measuring 4720mm long, 1908mm wide and 1696mm tall, the ET5 is 265mm longer than a BYD Atto 3. Its boot can take 471L with the seats up (up 31L on the BYD) and 1141L when folded (down 199L).
Its exterior dimensions make it 31mm shorter and 221mm narrower than the Tesla Model Y.
EV Automotive has earmarked 72kWh and 86kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to launch in Australia across three ET5 variants, offering between 400km and 490km of driving range.
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The front wheels are powered by an electric motor producing 150kW of power and 320Nm of torque. That power output is lineball with the Atto 3, but the latter is up 10Nm.
Skywell claims a 0-100km/h time of 7.9 seconds.
Prices haven’t yet been announced, though given the ET5’s driving range and prospective equipment levels, it could undercut the Atto 3, which is priced from almost $44,500 before on-road costs.
It’ll join existing Skywell EVs such as the EC11 – a van and passenger bus with a striking resemblance to the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter – in EV Automotive’s local stock range.
The importer is also set to launch the Victory EC1 in Australia, a forward-control van and cab-chassis, intended for last-mile deliveries and councils.
MORE: Which Chinese car brands are coming to Australia in 2024 and 2025?
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