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Close April and Ebro has put 2,033 units on street. They are not spectacular figures. They would not be if we did not know that the company has just been working for a few months. In what will be your first full year Mounting kits In the old Nissan factory in Barcelona, ​​the reborn Ebro has enrolled 1,564 units of the EBRO S700 and 469 units of the S800.

The calendar is being fulfilled, both SUV continue to expand versions and adding Motorizations. He Ebro S400, The car that will fight in one of the most complicated markets, that of the Urban SUV, is yet to come. By the end of the year they promise a new model.

Before, plug -in hybrid versions promise to give a greater impulse to sales. Does 2,033 units sound like? Well, firms more than settled in Spain as Honda or Alfa Romeo They have sold less. And Suzuki, who also fights with affordable prices, moves in very similar figures.

EBRO TECHNICAL SHEET S700 PHEV

In search of the label

Most cars buyers want to buy, in addition to a car, a label. It is what they say from Ebro and is what the data say. The volume of hybrids in Spain has shot in recent years. Ebro, after exclusively offering cars with pure combustion engines, has the opportunity to continue expanding a good customer base in the coming months.

“We are making a hole, which we wanted.” That is what they say from the brand and that hole has a quantifiable objective: Manufacture 20,000 units When ending 2025. rather, join the kits that arrive from China. Right now, Ebro cars are a very simple puzzle managed by heavy machinery. The motor train arrives on the one hand, the subchassis on the other and it is in Barcelona where both pieces are joined to form the car.

This way of working is common in car factories, the motor train is assembled on the one hand and the body on the other. When the time comes, at a point called “marriage” both lines join and give the car definitive. Right now, that union is the only part of the process that takes place in Spain. Both pieces arrive from China in containers.

The intention is that At the end of the year that ends. By then the works at the Nissan facilities should be finished and the settlement lines. Then, in Barcelona the body will be assembled and the division in charge of the paint will also be ready.

At the moment, the Ebro continue to arrive from China, manufactured by Chery and, therefore, cousins ​​brothers of the Jaecoo 7among others. As in these, the Ebro S700 are in turn cousins ​​of the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro That the automobile group markets in South America but has endowed both interior cars updated and with good perceived quality. An update that goes further, to twin screens of 12.3 inches or an elegant dashboard furniture but with touch buttons.

On the outside, the Ebro S700 PHEV is almost traced to combustion versions. You have to refine the eye to see that the grill is more closed or that the tires are 18 inches, such as the most complete equipment of their pure combustion brothers. In fact, that is the equipment from which the PHEV versions that count as a camera with 540º degrees (the brand calls to see what is under the car) or Sony speakers and then add 18-inch tires, Head-Up Display and fast charging (40 kW) in its Luxury version in front of the premium.

A very complete equipment that helps define the Ebro customer. From the brand they confirm that they are aware that their audience has a marked profile. First, They value that Ebro has a Spanish past And that, although with Chinese capital as support, they have Risen Nissan’s factory in Barcelona. Second, they like the inside of the car, they look for that quality perception and their technological arsenal.

Comparison with Dacia optionswho choose to flood the interior of hard plastics, is really striking. There, in attracting the potential client to the concessionaire (and they already have 50 operations throughout Spain) is where the company has to win. It is your best asset to convince.

Because sitting behind the wheel is perceived that quality. The screens are not the best in the market but they do offer good quality. Another thing is your performance. The central panel has well distributed menus and has a drop -down control center at the top that also has buttons to automatically deactivate the speed alert and the fatigue detector and distractions. Under the screen it has a touch surface with air conditioning buttons.

My greatest complaint is with the Info -detached response. I have had the feeling that the system moved well in general but suffered more when we connected the Apple Carplay wirelessly. There the software seemed to become heavier and respond worse to the touches of the screen. In addition, it is difficult to get out of the Apple Carplay interface to the general menu because it requires deploying a menu that is hidden and that is not easy to make it appear.

For the rest, the general touch is very good. The sensations are kept. When the car moves in completely electric mode it is silent and moves agility. When the combustion engine enters, it becomes evident by the sound but not by the answer. This is because the combustion engine can push the car wheels but can also act as a generator, filling the energy battery that is exploited by electric motors. In this mode of operation, the running is very soft.

The suspension has refined in front of the Jaecoo 7 so that the car goes a little more settled but at no time sacrifices comfort. On a stretch road, the body of the body that balances until the suspension is felt but everything happens faster than in its Chinese brothers. The company’s engineers confirm that they have worked on it. The car does not feel so soft although it is far, here, the dynamism of a Dacia Duster. In the direction they have also acted and although it feels light and an artificial point, it is somewhat more direct than the other Chery models. He still lacks land to feel totally precise.

The brake is the other point of clear improvement. He feels dead in his upper part and costs to find him the point because, once we have put his foot, stops strongly. As it does not always manage the regenerative braking, that makes it lose some consistency in braking. Among the positive points, the car feels less noisy than the Jaecoo 7 or the pure versions of combustion.

On open road, performance has been good. He Adaptive Cruise Control He has behaved well, correctly. His mole is when finding the limits of the lane again, being a bit slow in this sense although, much less, worrying. However, accelerations and braking have been carried out smoothly, correctly anticipating the arrival in a preceding vehicle. Nor has any phantom brake suffered by approaching a truck, a usual problem in these systems but more recurring among Chinese vehicles.

In short accounts. The Ebro S700 PHEV, the plug-in hybrid, is a very interesting option if you travel 40-50 km per day and do not want to depend on electrical technology on a long trip. On a journey of about 140 kilometers, consumption remained at 5.1 liters/100 km, performing most of them by road. At the end of the trip, there was still more than 20% of autonomy in the battery.

“We believe that plug -in hybrids can mean half of our sales,” they tell us from the brand. We do not doubt it and, in fact, in Xataka We have told why it is in this technology where lChinese cars can enter with a firm step. It also has many interesting details such as the fast charge of 40 kW, a good figure for a plug -in hybrid.

We talk about a 347 hp car, which behaves with sufficiency on the road (especially on highway), which is comfortable and silent in the city and the ringms and promises up to 90 kilometers in completely electric mode. Its combustion engine (143 hp) has as its main mission to act as a generator and that is why the kick does not feel so strong when we accelerate but it allows to circulate more softly. Most of the time we have 204 hp of the electric thrust available.

It arrives with a price from 39,990 euros for the EBRO S700 PHEV, loaded with equipment and with the promise of lowering its price by up to 7,000 euros thanks to the MOVES III PLAN (If the plug -in hybrid approval 90 or more kilometers of electric autonomy receives the same help as an electric) and brand discounts. In fact, it is promoted below 30,000 euros for this launch.

Few rivals, if not, offer equipment and level of finishes similar due to that size, price and technology. Ebro wants to be the town’s car. Chinese or Spanish, is presenting a good candidacy.

Photos | Xataka

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