Text, photos and video by Randy Peregrino
Early this year, WM Motor Philippines (WMPH) became the newest automotive company to enter the local market and the official Weltmeister car distributor in the country. It also previewed its upcoming full-electric vehicle as its first model offering. On July 13, WMPH officially unveiled the Weltmeister W5 full-electric compact crossover.
The mother company, WM Motor (China), was established in 2015 and derived its name from the German translation of “world champion” (Weltmeister). In the Chinese market, the W5 is offered as the EX5-Z, an updated version of their best-selling EX5, which became the first Chinese-designed and built full-EV to surpass 30,000 units sold since its introduction in April 2019.
According to WMPH, the Weltmeister W5 is an EV built to maximize driving quality and security and made with submarine-grade steel with anti-collision designs. This top-of-the-line car helms road safety, longevity, and durability. Aside from a vehicle built to reduce carbon footprint toward a sustainable future, it’s also packed with interactive technology for those who want to evolve the way they live.
Rashid Delgado, WM Motor Philippines president, expressed his pride and excitement for the company to be the pioneer in the EV industry in the Philippines. “With the continuous rise of fuel prices in the country, we strongly believe that EVs would prove to be the friendlier and more sustainable choice for consumers while positively impacting the environment with zero emissions. We are confident that the time is right, and the time is now to be introducing a sustainable technology and e-mobility lifestyle to the Philippines and the Filipino people,” he said.
Conscious interactive aesthetics
According to WM Motor (China), the design adopted the aesthetic layout of conscious interaction, and features hidden door handles, far and near light integrated LED headlights through tail lights, and even an integrated luggage rack. The model’s “Gen Z sport aesthetic design” highlights a suspended roof design and 18-inch new wheels complementing the dark matte underneath panels. Overall, the W5 shares the same blend of sharp lines and curvy profiles that are prominent in the local market of other Chinese-made crossovers.
Interestingly, the logo upfront also serves as a charging indicator, and beneath that is the rapid charging port, cleverly covered. There’s also a slow charging port found on the left rear panel, which is the charging port provided for home charging. Dimension-wise, the W5 is 4,585 mm long, 1,835 mm wide, and 1,672 mm long, with a wheelbase of 2703 mm.
Premium and modern
Inside, everything is modern and has that premium touch, from the soft materials and metallic trims to the light tone material accent on the dashboard. Seats have that snug and comfy design. There is an electric panoramic sunroof with a broader field of view.
WM China claims that the cabin also offers a “CleanPro” tech which has undergone a comprehensive upgrade in terms of health and safety. It has the CN95 health and safety certification with excellent performance, covering clean air and low noise. WM claims it covers four major indicators, including sound, ultraviolet, antibacterial, and healthy material selection, from hearing and smell to the touch.
The main highlight is the large 15.6-inch longitudinal touchscreen panel, which supports upper and lower split screen interaction functions. Both video and navigation can be displayed on the same page so that information and entertainment are not mistaken. While it does not support Android Auto and Apple Carplay functions, it has an intelligent voice system, 360-degree camera view, entertainment, and telephony, among others.
The touchscreen panel also has a “hands-free” inductive electric opening tailgate control apart from a WM theatre-style surround sound speaker setup. Also clustered in the center console are the drive dial (integrated with the power on control), cabin climate control, drive mode switch, smartphone wireless charging tray, and USB ports. Moreover, there is an additional USB interface on the back of the front seat for charging, apart from the available rear air vents at the back of the center console.
Pure electric power
The W5 variant for the Philippine market has a 400km (theoretical) range battery capacity of 52.56kWh using a Ternary lithium battery. WM claims that charging time is approximately 0.5-0.58 hour (around 30 to 35 minutes) using a rapid charger and about 8.4-11.2 hours on slow charging to achieve about 80% of battery capacity. During the launch event, a proprietary charging unit was on display. According to WMPH, this charging unit is included in the vehicle purchase package, and charges the battery in about 8 hours. But using the emergency charging cable alone via any household 220-volt electrical outlet takes about 16 hours.
The electric motor generates a maximum of 160 KW power, equivalent to 215 hp and 315 Nm of torque. WM China claims a 100 kph sprint from standstill is achievable in about eight seconds.
Pure electric safety
The vehicle has a C-NCAP five-star security certification. According to WM China, the frame is made of a submarine-class high-strength steel structure with a robust anti-collision design. From the high-strength protection of the battery pack shell to several insulations that withstand voltage tests, there is an automatic power off in the event of a short circuit and collision. The battery pack is IP68 waterproof and dustproof with dual ECU power battery safety monitoring and a five-fold battery safety guarantee to ensure safety and worry-free in various extreme environments.
Standard safety features are double front airbags, side airbags, and front and rear through side air curtains. Further, the interior system adopts several software and hardware protection. There is also automatic and fast safety defogging, 360-degree panoramic image recording, and ESP body electronic stability control system.
The vehicle also has an Intelligent Mobility Assist System such as lane keeping, low-speed follow-up, and high-level intelligent driving assistance, among others. There is also “low battery attenuation” utilizing long mileage low attenuation management system to achieve 200,000 km of battery attenuation (reduction of energy) of less than 3%.
Pricing, colors
The all-electric Weltmeister W5 retails at P2.548 million. As for body colors, we witnessed the Gentian Blue and Tranquility Ash shades presented during the July 13 launch event, along with an unspecified shade of black and red units. The good news is that WMPH’s first showroom in Seven/NEO BGC, Taguig is now open. It’s highly recommended that interested customers visit the dealership to learn more about the EV’s detailed and long list of tech features.
Meanwhile, WMPH promises a sustainable and cost-efficient driving experience despite the hustle and bustle of everyday city life. “The awareness of our climate and pollution crisis is growing. We really need to continue to educate the market and the Filipino consumers. And more importantly, to address this by introducing safe, reliable, effective, and attractive products and solutions that make sense financially and can be implemented quickly,” said Delgado.
“With our plans to roll out our own WM dealerships, charging networks, strong sales, auto financing/insurance, and after-sales/ warranty services support, we fully intend to deliver worry-free ownership to future owners of WM’s products and services,” Delgado added.