This is an ArcFox Alpha S, a full-electric Chinese sedan-coupe, or you could call it an SUV-coupe. ArcFox calls it a sedan. I met this light-gray Alpha S in Beijing on a rainy day in the summer of 2023.
The Alpha S is a pretty car. It is quite impressive too, long and wide, with a smooth streamlined body and large alloy wheels.
The ArcFox brand is owned by BAIC. However, ArcFox cars are manufactured by BAIC Bluepark Magna, a car-manufacturing joint venture between BAIC (51%) and Canadian automotive firm Magna International (49%). The joint venture makes cars for BAIC under the ArcFox and Beijing brands. When established in 2018, the joint venture announced it was also open for contract-manufacturing business for non-BAIC brands, but they haven’t found any takers yet.
The interior is nice as well, with blue-white leather seats and a wide 20.3-inch screen. The center tunnel has a single wireless charging pad, a controller-dial, and some storage space in the lower area. Note the ArcFox-banded floor mats.
The Alpha S (阿尔法S) was launched in 2019. It is currently available in FWD single-motor and AWD dual-motor versions. ArcFox also sells an ultra-high-end variant which was co-developed with electronics firm Huawei, more on that one in a later post.
The car we have here is a standard FWD example. The electric motor has an output of 175 kW (238 hp) and 360 Nm. The top speed is 180 km/h and 0-100 takes 7.7 seconds. Electricity is stored in a 183 kWh CATL ternary lithium battery. The range is 525 kilometers CLTC. Note the αS badge on the right, ArcFox uses the Latin symbol (α) for Alpha on the car. Like many new Chinese electric cars, the Alpha S has a V2L function so the car can power appliances, like a mini fridge or an electric oven when camping out in the wild. The output is 6.6 kW, which is high. Most cars have only 3.3.
Bluepark Magna (蓝谷麦格纳). The full name of the joint venture is 北汽蓝谷麦格纳汽车有限公司, BAIC Blue Park Magna Automobile Co., Ltd. There is one odd thing about the English name. The character 谷 means valley, so many media translate the name as Blue Valley. That is technically correct, however, the company has chosen the English name Blue Park, not Blue Valley.
The ArcFox logo on the hood depicts an Arctic fox. The base model of the Alpha S has a base price of 189.800 yuan, or $26K at the time of writing. And that is not a bad deal. Sadly for ArcFox, sales are slow. The brand is relatively unknown and the design of the Alpha S does not appeal to everyone.