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Work to do… Skywell BE11 First Drive

How does new Chinese electric brand Skywell’s first offering compare to the plentiful opposition?
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28 November 2024

BUSINESS MOTORING OVERALL SCORE

5.8/10

What is it?

Skywell will likely be among the least recognised of all the Chinese brands now arriving on the UK market. As we report here, while following the trend of such brands by having a major conglomerate behind it (in this case one of China’s largest bus makers), Skywell is taking a much more measured approach, its British importer Innovation Automotive having so far appointed just 10 dealers and expecting this to only grow to around 50 by the end of 2024.

Skywell is, however, reporting significant fleet interest in its first offering, the BE11 electric SUV, and expecting that what UK managing director David Clark describes as ‘modest’ first-year sales will be slewed in favour of fleet buyers.

The reasons? Firstly, both versions of the BE11 are priced at under the £40,000 marker (though one of them only £5 under), the point at which vehicles become liable for the ‘expensive car supplement’ – an extra £410 per year for five years in Vehicle Excise Duty. After 1st April 2025 even electric vehicle owners will have to pay the supplement.

Secondly, adding to the economic reasons for choosing the BE11, CAP has predicted its residual values at 43% over 30,000 miles/3 years, significantly outperforming much better-known potential rivals such as the Skoda Enyaq and Nissan Ariya.

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As is typical among Chinese product, the BE11 also comes generously equipped with no additional options list, which along with a seven-year warranty adds up to seemingly compelling reasons for fleet managers and salary-sacrifice providers to take a serious look at this newcomer.

While new to the UK market, the BE11 has been on sale in China since 2020. Pitched as a mid-sized SUV, it’s very much at the top end of this sector, with a length of over 4.7 metres and in particular a width of 1.9 metres outstretching just about all of its rivals.

The vehicle comes with two battery choices, both of which employ a 150kW motor, which equates to 204hp with 320Nm of torque. This is now sourced from the rather better-known BYD, among a few changes made to the BE11 following feedback from those who tried the first pre-production models. Mounted up front with no all-wheel-drive option, it hauls the car through 62mph from rest in 9.6 seconds.

Costing £36,995, the BE11 Standard Range is powered by a 72kWh battery and offers a WLTP-certified combined cycle range of up to 248 miles. The 86kWh battery of the Long Range model extends the potential distance between charges up to 302 miles.

Replenishment of the BE11 battery is less impressive, the AC charging capacity of 11kW combined with a maximum of only 80kW on a DC charger. While most EV makers quote 10 to 80% recharging figures, Skywell offers 20 to 70%, which takes 36 minutes on the Standard Range and 45 minutes on the Long Range.

2411 skywell be11 04Overall the standard equipment list on the BE11 is indeed, impressive. Every version, whether Standard or Long Range, gets such niceties as an opening panoramic ‘sky roof’, wireless phone charging, keyless entry, a 360-degree around-view monitor and a gesture-opening electric tailgate. There are, however, some basic notable omissions, such as heated front seats.

The safety specification is less impressive. With the European Type Approval process for this car starting long before the latest safety regulations came in, the BE11 does without the likes of blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist and speed limit alerts. Weakly suggesting that most drivers tend to switch such systems off anyway, Skywell UK management do admit that if or when the car is Euro NCAP tested they wouldn’t expect a particularly high score.

What do we think of it?

On first viewing the Skywell BE11 looks a big machine for a C-segment SUV, which it is, particularly its width. As for the styling, well it’s pretty innocuous, with nothing to really like or dislike about it.

2411 skywell be11 06Those large proportions do translate to a great deal of space on the inside, especially in the rear seats which can easily accommodate tall occupants without forcing front-seat users to compromise their legroom. It’s all easily accessed too, the larger rear doors opening particularly wide.

Boot space veers towards the merely adequate, however – 467 litres will likely be big enough for most users but is substantially less than offered in the Skoda Enyaq and close to half of the KGM Torres. Skywell doesn’t quote the space with rear seats folded, possibly a good thing as a demonstration at the launch event suggests dropping said seats is not the most user-friendly of processes.

Fit and finish of the cabin is reasonable, with wood-effect dash and door inserts, a rose-gold effect trim and upholstery in a leather-style suede. There are also plenty of storage bins and the like for oddments.

2411 skywell be11 03Up front the driver gets a 12.3-inch information screen – though the information this provides beyond basic instruments is quite sparse – and a landscape-format 12.8-inch infotainment screen dominates the centre. While appearing large, it’s actually been reduced in size from the 15-inch plus unit of pre-production models, primarily we are told because they blocked the start button.

Trying to work with this screen is one of the most frustrating aspects of the whole car. Skywell has its own in-house ‘Turbo Dog’ sat nav system but early production versions of the BE11 are not fitted with it (and early adopters should be warned that it cannot be retro-fitted). This should not be a problem as the car is said to have smartphone compatibility, but actually getting it to recognise Apple Car Play proved in our instance a time-consuming and ultimately futile exercise.

Apart from that, the infotainment system is a tale of complicated, tortuously hard to navigate menus and a less than impressive sound system – in short well below the level of what is expected on even the least-expensive cars in today’s market.

On the road the BE11 scores just a few more points for its ride quality at motorway speeds, which is very good indeed and apparently improved by the fact that the 20-inch wheels of the pre-production models have been replaced by 19s on the showroom version. Everywhere else though… The steering is among the lightest we’ve ever driven with, the driver feeling completely divorced from what the front wheels are doing and not helped by a very soft suspension setup.

2411 skywell be11 02One area in which Skywell could make an immediate improvement to the BE11 is by replacing the standard-fit tyres, made by Singapore-based Giti. They struggle to cope with hard acceleration, despite the fact that acceleration in the BE11 is never hard, the most rapid of kick-downs on the throttle producing a very lazy response.

The car offers two brake settings, dubbed Comfort and Sport, and settling on the latter is the best move as it offers the kind of resistance one might expect. Thankfully there is regenerative braking, on a continuous sliding scale, rather than a series of settings, though sadly all the settings are hidden in the menus of that screen.

There are valid reasons for a fleet manager or user-chooser to go for the Skywell BE11 – the car does come with a lot of equipment, and the combination of price and predicted residual value does offer plus points economically. You’ll also likely find the car easy to live with if your usage almost entirely involves eating up motorway miles.

Overall, however, the Skywell significantly lacks in many areas, from road manners to user-friendly infotainment to safety aids. One can’t help thinking that the true measure of Skywell’s prospects for success on the UK market will not be apparent until the launch of its first car specifically designed for Europe, the Skywell Q electric hatchback, which is not due until late in 2025.

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Business Motoring First Drives are the initial test of a new vehicle, of usually between 50 and 100 miles. Business Motoring Full Reviews are usually conducted over a full week, completing several hundred miles.

The Skywell BE11 Long Range

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Andrew Charman

Andrew Charman has been a motoring journalist for more than 30 years, writing about vehicles, technology and the industry. He is a Guild of Motoring Writers committee member and has won several awards including for his business coverage.

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