Exlantix ditches E08 nameplate, pushes the MPV upmarket

If you were looking forward to seeing the Exeed Exlantix E08 minivan in the showrooms, stop looking. The vehicle will be released under Luxeed branding instead and will cost significantly more than expected due to added premium features.

The show van known as the Exeed Exlantix E08 debuted at a recent auto show in China. It was advertised as the first minivan designed by HIMA (the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) co-founded between Huawei and Chery, reports 21st Century Business Herald China.

However, the team of engineers responsible for the development of the 300,000-Yuan (~$42,000) vehicle was later reassigned to Luxeed and set to work on a project called EHV. Luxeed is another brand created by Huawei And Chery, but one focused on more expensive vehicles. The new name of the van sounds “Luxeed EHV”. It runs on the company’s E0X-L platform and is expected to start from roughly 360,000 Yuan ($50,000) when it goes on sale in China in PHEV and all-electric variants.

Chery has already issued an interesting comment on the decision. It called it “strategic de-escalation” and explained that the MPV formerly known as the Exlantix E08 was about to cannibalize the sales of another minivan being developed by another brand. The company is already struggling with one such pair of vehicles: the Luxeed S7 sedan launched two years ago is stealing customers from the Exlantix ES introduced several months later on the same platform and similar tech. Internal competition is bad, especially in a crowded market, so measures were taken to prevent it in the case of the Luxeed EHV.