Baojun Yep Unveils Eye-Catching Exterior LCD Screen: Share Messages with Fellow Drivers on the Go
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, gather around as I tell you about the latest automotive creation that has me scratching my head. It's the Baojun Yep, an electric mini SUV born from the union of GM and their Chinese partners, SGMW. With a price tag of around RMB 100,000 yuan ($14,400), it's set to hit the market in June. But what really got my attention was the bizarre feature they've bolted onto the back of this little tyke: a digital screen that can display the driver's status, time, emoticons, warnings, and other oddities for the world to see.
Now, I'm not sure what hallucinogenic substances the folks at SGMW were ingesting when they came up with the Watch-inspired Car-watch, but it's quite a spectacle. Picture an Apple Watch with a strap, stretched out to over a meter in length and attached to the back of a car. If that's not enough to boggle the mind, the 300 x 256 mm digital screen mounted on this elongated strip allows drivers to "share creative ideas," as if anyone's been clamoring for a car that helps them express themselves through emoticons.
But wait, there's more! The Baojun Yep is equipped with the Lingxi Intelligent Driving System, a product of DJI-Wuling's ingenuity. Lingxi ADAS relies on dual-lens cameras and first made its appearance on the Baojun Kiwi EV DJ edition. For those unfamiliar, DJI is a Chinese drone maker, and Wuling is another brand under SGMW.
This curious 3-door, 4-seater contraption measures in at 3381/1685/1721 mm (length, width, height), has a wheelbase of 2110 mm, and weighs just 1006 kg. The car boasts a single rear 50 kW motor with a peak torque of 140 Nm and a top speed that's limited to a rather pedestrian 100 km/h.
Baojun is a brand under the SGMW umbrella – a collaboration between GM, SAIC, and Wuling. It started as an unassuming product line using outdated platforms from SAIC-GM, but has since launched the futuristic mini car KiWi EV in partnership with Alibaba and DJI. Just last year, they announced the new 2023 Baojun KiWi EV.
We didn't see the Baojun Yep at Auto Shanghai, so we'll have to wait until June to learn more about this quirky creation. However, recent spy shots have shown that the charging port is located in a rather unorthodox place – right between the headlights.
So there you have it, the Baojun Yep is set for production, and it seems like SGMW is dead serious about it. But am I the only one who's a tad bit concerned about the young generation expressing themselves through the rear end of their car? I mean, really, what could possibly go wrong?
Yours truly,
Captain Electro
