There’s a new electric vehicle (EV) in town and it is called the Seres 3. Distributed in Malaysia by Oriental Swan Motor Group, the Seres 3 (pronounced as ‘Series 3’) is being offered at a promotional price of RM95,000 on-the-road inclusive of insurance. The catch is only 10 units are available for now as part of the brand’s initial introduction here.
We’ve actually seen the Seres 3 in Malaysia before, as back in 2021, a paultan.org reader sent in a photo of the EV in its pre-facelift form. The one we’re getting now is the facelifted model that is aimed at export markets but has already been discontinued in China (it was known as the Glory E3 then).
For the asking price, you’re getting an SUV that has a footprint roughly similar to the Honda e:N1/HR-V and Proton X50, measuring in at 4,385 mm long, 1,850 mm wide, 1,650 mm tall and with a wheelbase of 2,655 mm. Front MacPherson struts and a rear torsion beam make up the Seres 3’s suspension, which is paired with all-around disc brakes and 18-inch alloys (with 225/55 profile tyres).
The electric motor driving the front wheels is rated at 163 PS (161 hp or 120 kW) and 300 Nm of torque, with power delivered by a 53.6-kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery. The latter is good for a range of up to 405 km following the NEDC standard (likely 340 km WLTP) and supports 11-kW AC charging (0-80% in four hours) as well as 60-kW DC fast charging (0-80% in 40 minutes).
In terms of equipment, the Seres 3 comes with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, four speakers, six airbags (front, side and curtain), ESP, brake assist, EBD, traction control, hill start assist, hill descent control, auto brake hold, a tyre pressure monitor, passive cruise control, rear parking sensors, a reverse camera, LED headlamps and DRLs, selectable drive modes, powered front seats, single-zone climate control (with rear vents) rain-sensing wipers and leatherette upholstery.
Features that most would expect at this price such as keyless entry (there is still keyless start), powered side mirrors (they are manually operated) or even any form of ADAS are missing from the Seres 3 sold here, which indicates this to be a low-spec variant. In a rare case for EVs, there is a spare tyre under the boot floor.
We should point out that the Seres 3 isn’t an EV that was built from the ground up on a dedicated platform. Instead, its roots can be traced to the Glory 500 that had an internal combustion engine, but was converted to be become an EV. The use of a NMC battery shows its age, as China has long moved on to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) for medium-sized batteries like this.
According to the local distributor, the Seres 3 will be joined by the Seres 5 Pro in the first quarter of 2026, with a range extender version (REEV) of the latter claimed to offer as much as 1,200 km of WLTP range. The REEV powertrain features a 1.5 litre turbocharged inline-four petrol engine that gets an electric motor attached as a generator for a 40-kWH NMC battery.
This is used for a pair of electric traction motors delivering all-wheel drive and a total system output of 551 PS (543 hp or 405 kW) and 820 Nm. There’s also a rear-wheel drive version of the REEV setup with 347 PS (342 hp or 255 kW) and 520 Nm.
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