Electrification and autonomous driving represent the future of the auto industry. That’s spurred automakers from all corners of the world to hitch their proverbial wagons on these two segments. Chinese auto giant BAIC is one of those automakers, and it’s jumping on board the electric SUV bandwagon through its sub-brand, Arcfox, which didn’t take long to roll out the ECF electric SUV Concept.

Designed by the great Walter de Silva, the ECF Concept is a stylistic concept SUV that may or may not end up in production. The SUV comes with a more minimalist design than Arcfox’s other concept offering, the all-electric GT sports car, and if it ends up getting the green light, it could serve as the tent pole for Arcfox’s future vehicle offerings. No pressure, right?

Exterior

Walter de Silva is known in the auto world as one of the most famous car designers of all time. He’s also one of the most adaptable designers in the business and is someone who once said — back in 2012 — that the future (at that time) of car design would be minimalist styling.

The SUV has a wheelbase of 2,900 mm (114.2 inches), which is just a tad longer than the G01 BMW X3. The backlit “ECF” name in the lower part of the front and rear fenders is arguably the most identifiable design of the SUV.

Traditional headlamps are gone, too, replaced instead by thin light strips that probably can’t illuminate anything beyond five feet. This thing has taillamps, too, but you’re unlikely to notice it because they're so thin.

Interior

The layered white dashboard sandwiches what is probably the largest digital infotainment screen you’ll ever come across. It makes Mercedes’ MBUX infotainment system look like an iPad Pro by comparison.

It is fascinating that this particular steering wheel design has been used in many concept vehicles over the years, most recently in the Audi AI:ME that, coincidentally, debuted in China at Auto Shanghai 2019. The ECF’s steering wheel does look more aesthetically pleasing than the one we saw in the AI:ME.

Drivetrain

The Arcfox ECF Concept is an electric SUV that draws its power from a pair of electric motors that combine to produce a fair amount of output that will allow the SUV to carry a range of 373 miles.

No specific mention was made on the amount of power that these two electric motors are capable of. The automaker is also throwing Level 3 autonomous driving into the mix, allowing drivers to cede driving duties to the car, though they’ll still need to be ready to intervene from time to time or when specific road situations call for their attention.

Final Thoughts

At first glance, the concept it’s an impressive piece of work, magnified, in part, by Walter de Silva’s involvement in its design. That part of the concept stands out in a lot of ways, most notably in the interior where the end-to-end dashboard is just waiting to be played with. It’s a shame that Arcfox didn’t divulge more information about the SUV’s drivetrain beyond the 373-mile range, but it is something to look forward to once the production model arrives. I wouldn’t hold out hope that a lot of details in this concept will make the transition, but at least we get to see de Silva’s design imprint on a concept vehicle once again.