This Chinese sedan sets a Guinness World Record

The Roewe D7 broke the record for the longest distance traveled by a plug-in hybrid car on a single tank of fuel.

This name might sound somewhat familiar in the back of your mind, and yet… Roewe is a Chinese automotive brand launched in 2007 by the SAIC group (which also owns MG). It is loosely inspired by the late British manufacturer Rover, which disappeared in April 2005. SAIC resumed production of two of Rover’s last models, the Rover 25 and Rover 75, but under modified names because it could not use the “Rover” name for its models, as the rights to the name had been acquired by Ford in September 2006, who then transferred them to Tata Motors during the Land Rover sale in 2008.

To circumvent this restriction, SAIC chose to create a new brand with an original name and a logo reminiscent of Rover’s. The Roewe logo retains the iconic shape of the former Rover logo but replaces the viking ship (a historical reference to England) with two lions surrounding a sword, above a Gothic “R”. The lions and sword adopt a Chinese graphic style, further emphasizing the distinct identity of the new brand.

The name “Roewe” is inspired by the Chinese pronunciation of “Rover” in Latin alphabet. In English, “Roewe” is pronounced “Row-weh”. SAIC claims that “Roewe” is a wordplay based on the Chinese language, combining the notions of honor, power, and prestige in a single term. Now you know everything!

2.49 liters / 100 km!

Almost 20 years later, Roewe still exists and has especially specialized in large plug-in hybrid sedans. This D7 is the most glorious demonstration of that, with a Guinness World Record certified at the end of October 2024. With a full tank of fuel and a fully charged battery, it managed to travel 2208 kilometers without refueling.

This translates to a fuel consumption of only 2.49 liters per 100 km thanks to a small 55-liter tank. Amazing! The engine is a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder block with an efficiency of 43%. Its power is just 111 horsepower with a torque of 135 Nm. Quite a modest engine… but the trick is elsewhere.

It seems that this Roewe D7 is actually an electric vehicle with a range extender, meaning the engine does not drive the wheels. This task is performed by an electric motor of 150 kW (204 horsepower) and 330 Nm of torque. We are reassured. No energy loss in the transmission, for example.

SAIC promised more details soon about the conditions under which it achieved this feat, and the Chinese press is almost certain of one thing: the Roewe D7 in question was a future evolution of the sedan marketed in 2023, because the current CLTC (Chinese National Standard) homologation only indicates a range of 1,400 km.

But with the Guinness World Records banner, publicity is likely to be in high gear.

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