Chinese carmaker Deepal has committed to introducing several additional models to the Australian market as early as 2025, hot on the heels of its S07 electric SUV launched today.
Speaking at the Sydney International EV show, where sales of the S07 officially commenced, Deepal Australia general manager Cormac Cafolla revealed the challenger brand’s next logical entrant into the local market would be the S05.
This is a smaller electric SUV that would compete with the BYD Atto 3 in Australia.
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G318 
E07
Further afield, Mr Cafolla also reaffirmed his desire to launch the Toyota Prado-rivalling Deepal G318, a large, unibody SUV that features a range-extender drivetrain, and even the unusual Deepal E07, a SUV-cum-ute mash-up.
“All of these cars are badged as concept cars for Australia, because they’re under consideration. But all these cars are live and on sale in other countries at the moment,” Mr Cafolla told CarExpert from Deepal’s stand at the EV Show.
“We understand from customer feedback that these cars work really well and, selfishly, I’d love to bring them all here. But we want to market sure they’re right for this market.
S05
“We have the production capacity to do all the cars you see here in right-hand drive. And as a group, [our parent company] Changan is expanding their manufacturing footprint as well that will support right-hand drive – and there will be announcements about that in the coming months.”
Chief among Deepal’s prospective new models for Australia is the S05 electric SUV. At just over 4.6m long, 1.9m wide and 1.6mm tall, with a 2880mm wheelbase, the S05 is incrementally larger than the BYD Atto 3.
Given its size and positioning, Deepal is likely to target a price of around $40,000 in Australia, though officials declined to comment.
Overseas, the Deepal S05 comes in range extender form, but in Australia the interest is more likely around the pure electric variant, comprising a 175kW/320Nm electric motor driving the rear wheels and supported by a 56kWh lithium iron phosphate battery.
All told, a 510km range is claimed based on Chinese calculations.
“I think S05 is the next logical car for Deepal in Australia,” Mr Cafolla said.
“I would love to bring all of these cars, and we have to get the timing right. But I think with S05, that segment is booming right now and you’re seeing a lot of success with cars in that segment.
“The E07 is another I would love to bring – it’s a polarising car and it’s quite different, but it can do stuff that I don’t think any other car in the market could do at the moment. There’s also big demand around the G318 and larger SUVs as well.”
Coinciding with the S07 sales launch in Sydney on Friday, Mr Cafolla confirmed Deepal had provided cars to crash authority ANCAP for independent testing, with results to be announced in the coming weeks.
Similarly, he confirmed Deepal was undertaking work to develop a Guaranteed Future Value scheme in Australia, under its ownership with the Inchcape Group, which also imports Peugeot and Subaru into the country.
“We’ll work with our Inchcape financial arm to develop a Deepal financial services, which will encompass all elements [including a Guaranteed Future Value],” he said.
“We’re working on that right now and intend to have that at the start of sales. If you’re buying into a new brand, you trust that brand and we want to give customers confidence – from a seven-year vehicle warranty and an eight-year battery warranty, to a fully detailed service plan, novated leasing options – and all that sort of stuff is in the works.
“We will target private and fleet buyers, we want to explore all opportunities in the market.”
Mr Cafolla agreed that Australians were spoiled for choice in the new car marketplace, and that Deepal was a relative unknown. But he insisted the Chinese disruptor was committed to Australia for the long-term.
“The production capability is there, so we’re not tied in any way. What we want to do is deliver to demand, and of course we’re ambitious and we want to push,” he said.
“We’re not here to launch with one car and sit back and rest – you’d get bored after a couple of weeks.
“We have a full range – our global product boss recently revealed our ‘nine products in three years’ plan internationally… I’ll put my hand up for everything that suits the Australian market, and we’ll see what’s right to bring at the right time, but absolutely we’ll have a fully fledged product lineup.”
