(Yicai Global) Nov. 22 -- With the launch of its first high-end electric vehicle, Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors has its eyes on the premium car market. Unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show on Nov. 19, the first model under the new standalone EV brand Saloon is a debut batch of just 101.

Jijialong, which means ‘Mecha Dragon’ in Chinese, will appear on the market in the second or third quarter of next year, according to the plan GWM’s sixth independent brand published.

The electric sports sedan is priced at CNY488,000 (USD76,400), which is higher than the average CNY300,000 for high-end new energy vehicles made by China’s traditional carmakers, but is in line with the pricing of NEV startups such as Nio.

Saloon will compete in two main markets in China, Chief Executive Wen Fei told Yicai Global. The first is that of EVs priced at more than CNY350,000, a market in which the only two rivals are Nio and HiPhi, both based in Shanghai. The second is the traditional luxury car market with players such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi.

Saloon is targeted at the young and well-heeled aged 20 to 40 who are influenced by the mecha culture, a market that does not yet have such cars, Wen said, noting that most EVs are sports utility vehicles, while sedans are rare.

Mecha refers to a science-fiction genre in which giant robots or machines controlled by people fight each other. Found in sci-fi movies, animation, comics, anime, and manga, the mecha culture has a huge worldwide fan base.

Saloon will launch a second EV model at the end of 2022, according to its plan. Wen told Yicai Global that the independent startup plans to release two brand new or updated models on average a year, to sell 200,000 units by 2025.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione