Qoros Brand Debuts, Hits the Ground Running with 3 Sedan

With an impressively sized display said to be modeled on the Silk Road, Qoros unveiled its production 3 Sedan, as well as its 3 Cross Hybrid concept and 3 Estate concept. We had the chance to sit in the 3 Sedan, and it looks and feels surprisingly accomplished considering its brief development time. In particular, the cabin has a pronounced Volkswagen aesthetic about it – so much so that we were half-tempted to ask whether Wolfsburg provided some of the switchgear and styling help. The interior is dominated by a unique eight-inch capacitive touchscreen system, whose functionality is divided into quadrants (where have we heard that before?), accessible with a two-finger swipe.

The Qoros 3 will be available at launch with either a naturally aspirated or turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine tied to either a manual gearbox or a dual-clutch transmission. Qoros also showed a pair of showcars, the Qoros 3 Estate Concept and Qoros 3 Cross Hybrid Concept. At a glance, both look like production-ready vehicles.

Qoros plans to launch later this year in its home market of China, pushing westward into Europe early next year.

And what of the Chinese auto industry's traditional blind spot, quality? The company is touting its executives and engineers' histories at other, more established automakers as proof that it will build a robust product. What companies have their execs worked at? BMW, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Saab and Volvo. Hmmm...