BAIC’s Arcfox T1 pounces on South Africa as pricing is revealed

Its public debut having taken place at the Kyalami Festival of Motoring in August, BAIC-owned Arcfox officially debuted its first model in South Africa, the T1, at a gala reveal in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening (21 October).

Dimensions

The first of a reported 20 products the brand will launch in South Africa over an unspecified timeframe, the T1, which went on-sale in China last year, arrives as a dedicated electric vehicle aimed at the smaller Chery Q, BYD Dolphin Surf and Geely E2.

Updated in its home market in June, which saw it adopt the Beta prefix South African models do without, the T1 rides on an EV bespoke platform and has the following dimensions:

• Length: 4 337 mm;
• Wheelbase: 2 770 mm;
• Width: 1 860 mm;
• Height: 1 572 mm

Providing seating for five, the T1 has the same 459-litre boot as the comparative New Zealand model, which increases to 1 352-litres with the rear seats folded forward.

In addition, lifting the board floor comes with a sectioned storage area capable of accommodating a further 74-litres.

Single powerunit

As revealed at Kyalami, the T1 range spans two variants, Pro and Max, both motivated by a 42.3-kWh battery pack powering a single 70kW/176Nm electric motor.

Accordingly, the T1 has a claimed range of 310 km and supports DC charging up to 80 kW, which will require a waiting time of 25 minutes from 30-80%.

Spec

On the specification front, the Pro receives the following as standard:

• 17-inch steel wheels;
• auto on/off LED headlights:
• rain sense wipers;
• imitation leather upholstery;
• keyless entry;
• push-button start;
• automatic air-conditioning;
• 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster;
• four speaker sound system;
• 15.6-inch infotainment display;
• panoramic roof;
• voice recognition;
• six airbags;
• tyre pressure monitor;
• front and rear parking sensors;
• 540-degree camera system;
• cruise control

Upping the ante considerably, the Max swaps the 17-inch wheels for 18-inch alloys and the regular cruise control for Adaptive Cruise Control.

Also standard are:

• electric and ventilated front seats;
• six-speaker sound system;
• dual wireless smartphone charging pads;
• electric tailgate;
• 540-degree camera system;
• Lane Keep Assist;
• Traffic Sign Recognition;
• Lane Keep Assist;
• Automatic Emergency Braking;
• Hill Start Assist;
• Lane Departure Warning;
• Driver Attention Alert;
• Lane Change Assist

Colours

Equipped with three driving modes, Eco, Comfort and Sport, the T1’s colour chart spans five hues:

• Dawn White;
• Flowing Silver;
• Midnight Grey;
• Vana Blue;
• Twilight Purple

At the same time, two interior colours are provided; the two-tone beige-and-black Cloud Beige and the mono-tone black with gold accents.

Price

Now available, the T1’s price tag includes a five-year/150 000 km warranty, a five-year/100 000 km service plan and an eight-year/200 000 km battery warranty.

As an additional incentive, the first 100 buyers also get a R7 000 charging card, which falls to R5 000 for the 101^st buyer.

• T1 Pro – R359 900
• T1 Max – R399 900