Kerman Motor Automotive Company, which imports and assembles JAC products in Iran, has published pictures of JAC's new electric car that it plans to assemble in Iran.
Kerman Motor has started technical tests on JAC’s electric hatchback since the current fiscal year’s 10th month (Dec. 22, 2021-Jan. 20).
The car is marketed internationally as the JAC eJS1, but in the Chinese market, it is sold under the new SEHOL brand, a subsidiary of JAC Motors, as the SEHOL E10X, the news portal of Car.ir reported.
Although E10X is a brand-new hatchback that has been on sale since 2021, it is actually a facelifted version of JAC’s iEV6E electric hatchback, which has been present in the Chinese market since 2016.
SEHOL brand products have a higher price range than JAC products, so the Chinese have redesigned them.
According to the Bama site, the price of the SEHOL E10X electric hatchback in the Chinese market depends on the type of electric motor and the type of battery pack. But in general, the price of the 30-kW model is about 40,000-50,000 yuan and the price of the 45-kW model is about 70,000-77,000 yuan.
The Kerman Motor electric hatchback will have a price range of $6,000-12,000. However, taking into account the average price of $10,000 for this car and the current rate of USD in the open market, the car will approximately be priced at 3 billion rials in the domestic market.
The E10X can be considered a competitor of the Yooz car, the first Iranian electric car. The final price of the Yooz car has not been determined, but experts estimate it to be priced at 6 billion rials. While the Yooz EV is a kind of quad bike, the JAC EV is a complete car that can emerge as a strong competitor, especially because of its lower price.
JAC E10X electric hatchback does not have many competitors in the Iranian market. The electric Tara and the Karmania EK1, whose prospects are not yet clear, could rival this car, if their price details were known.
The compact model of Yooz electric vehicle, although not a serious competitor of this Chinese car, could appeal to those who intend to use it in Iran’s congested cities.
The SEHOL 10 E10X is using the same platform as the JAC iEV6E. So, JAC used the same 45-kW electric motor from the iEV6E hatchback.
Tara EV Set for March Launch
The industrial model of Tara electric vehicle will be unveiled by the end of the current fiscal year (March 20, 2022), the CEO of knowledge-based company Jetco announced.
Davoud Khosravi, however, stressed that the EV infrastructure should be established first before embarking on its mass production.
The Tara EV pilot, jointly produced by IKCO and Jetco, was unveiled in the current fiscal year’s fourth month (June 22-July 22).
The production of electric vehicles was one of the unfulfilled dreams of domestic automakers, which may come true in the next few months.
Iran Khodro Industrial Group has shown high interest in launching one of its products with electric motors and drivetrains than other domestic automakers. The company had introduced vehicles such as Dena EV or Rana with electric motors, but none of them reached mass production.
In its latest initiatives, IKCO announced the production of an EV prototype for Tara.
“Converting the gasoline-to-electric vehicle platform and designing a specialized EV platform are two known ways of producing an EV and Iran follows the same procedure,” Khosravi was quoted as saying by the news portal of Car.ir.
Jetco’s CEO noted that designing a new specialized platform will be expensive and said, “If the electric car is designed and built by modifying the existing platforms for gas-powered cars, it will not cost billions of dollars. This is one of the methods used by Western automakers such as Peugeot, Renault and East Asian automakers to design and manufacture EVs.”
He added that Jetco started producing an EV on IKCO’s latest platform for Tara by using domestic components, with the aim of reducing production costs.
According to Khosravi, the car’s powertrain, including electric motors, battery pack, drive, charger and converter, have been designed by Jetco’s teams and most of the parts are produced domestically.
“Although some small parts, especially electronic components, are supplied by foreign companies, domestic component manufacturers have placed the production of these parts on their agenda,” he said.
He added that electric vehicles also need infrastructures like fast charging stations that is not the responsibility of EV automakers.
“EV charging stations should be established nationwide to charge electric cars in 20 minutes. Also, it is necessary to create conditions for owners to charge electric vehicles in their personal parking lots in 5-8 hours,” he said.
Khosravi stated that charging stations should be equipped with electricity generators for support during electricity consumption's peak hours and outages. He added that component producers need financial support for promoting EV mass production, which can be provided by banks.
Jetco produces concept cars and has shown that domestic engineers are able to produce EVs, but expects related organizations to establish the infrastructures for promoting mass production.
"Currently, battery packs account for a noticeable share in EV prices and about 35-45% of an electric vehicles' total price pertain to batteries. In every country, the EV buyer receives government subsidies that cover part of the total price. Incentives such as free parking lots and discounts on insurance and taxes for EVS are also provided," Khosravi said.
