Electrifying’s worst rated car ever has been given some careful updates for 2026 following “journalist and consumer feedback”. 

The Skywell BE11 mid-sized SUV has been on sale in the UK for 12 months, one of many Chinese carmakers that have been trying to establish themselves over here in recent years. This particular brand is the result of a partnership between a consumer electronics firm and a bus manufacturer. Make of that what you will. 

The headline change is the price, which has dropped from £36,995 to £31,990 for the Standard Range 72kWh model with 248 miles of WLTP range, and from £39,995 to £34,990 for the Long Range 86kWh model with 304 miles of WLTP range. 

There’s only the single trim, and buyers just have to choose which battery size they want, but Skywell reckons that it’s now undercutting all of its major rivals with the price cut. 

The BE11 hasn’t yet been tested by Euro NCAP, but Skywell was clear that it didn’t think the car would achieve a five star rating because it lacked some of the safety equipment needed to get the highest scores. It only managed a single star in China’s crash test. 

Some of the updates address that, with the car adding a host of features including automatic emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, lane keep assist, blind spot detection and collision warning. The company says that the new features have been tested over thousands of miles of driving in the UK by its engineers. 

Other new features include heated and ventilated electric front seats in faux leather, more ambient lighting, a three-pin plug socket to take advantage of V2L functionality, more USB plugs and an optional larger infotainment screen. 

Standard kit still includes a 360-degree parking system, panoramic sunroof, keyless entry, wireless smartphone connectivity, electric tailgate and reclining rear seats. 

We’ll have to drive the car again to see whether it has been elevated above its 2/10 status with the changes – it enjoys lofty company at the bottom of the rankings with the likes of the China-only Ora Ballet Cat that we drove back in 2024, the now out of production Smart EQ Fortwo and previous generation Renault Master E-Tech van that all got 4/10 scores. 

Opening panoramic sunroof as standard. This is the view a pigeon will have while it decides its aiming strategy