Powering the rear wheels is an electric motor delivering 27 hp of power and 85 Nm of torque. The Mini EV Macaron: A version of the normal Mini EV introduced in April 2021. Your email address will not be published. The bestselling Battery-Electric Vehicle (BEV) in China, the Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV has found its way to Thailand. The front brake is a disk brake and the rear one is a drum brake. The battery comes preheating and insulation function which allows it to be charged safely and efficiently at low temperatures. All the Settings You Should Change on Your New Samsung Phone, Give Your Back a Break With Our Favorite Office Chairs, What to Do When Netflix Wont Let You Share Your Password, The 12 Best Electric Bikes for Every Kind of Ride, The Best iPad to Buy (and a Few to Avoid). Apollo Air & Air Pro eScooter With The Best Build Quality, EMOVE Cruiser : Best eScooter Under $1500, AnyHill UM-2 : Unique Heavy Duty eScooter, Maxus Euniq 6 - The All New Chinese Electric SUV, Kandi K27 - Cheapest Electric Car in America, Price at $10,000, Chevrolet Blazer EV Design, Specifications, Features, Price And Launch Date, Voyah Free - Premium Electric SUV Like Yacht, Tata Punch EV - Design, Features, Performance & Price. But increased battery costs have seen prices rise by around $1,000. General Motors (GM) has released new, colorful versions of China's best-selling electric car, the tiny Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV. } ); Production will initially be limited to between 100 and 200 cars per month. The company had teased a convertible model at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show in April, and claimed that the car would go into production sometime next year. 'gtm.start': William Davis has written for Drive since July 2020, covering news and current affairs in the automotive industry. Or the same as a specced-up V8 Ram. And with such small wheels, you feel every pothole, all the more so given the poorly padded seats. The interior is utilitarian at best and its plastics have the tactility of an emery board. Mechanically, the Hong Guang MINI EV Macaron is equipped with a small electric motor that generates 20 kW (27 horsepower) and 85 Nm (62.7 pound-feet) of torque, up from the 13-kW (17.4-horsepower . Surprisingly, the EV has a selector button hidden behind the steering wheel that lets you choose between Eco and Sport modes. The Mini EV is actually higher than it is wide due to its 1,621 mm height; thus, headroom is adequate. The Mini EV has a top speed of 62mph, and on an expressway, we managed to reach just over 50mph an experience that was much less unnerving than expected. Not only did Wuling sling 15,000 units in only its first 20 days on the market, but its currently beating Tesla Model 3 sales almost two to one, InsideEVs reports. A new all-electric car that is tiny in both size and price has again outsold the Tesla Model 3 in China on a month-by-month basis, with sales of the Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV almost doubling those of Telsa's hugely popular global best-seller in January 2021. If we arent limited by business model, the data could be used to develop a shared car, or a ride-hailing city car, that could be used in city centers where passenger cars are banneda growing and likely permanent trend, he says. The Hong Guang Mini EV (really doesn't roll off the tongue, does it?) Range is claimed to be between 120km on the base battery, and 280km on top-spec versions. Renault had a go with the Kangoo Z.E. It's highly likely theCabrio will share the fixed-roof model's same powertrain. Similar clues to the budget nature of the build quality are shown in areas such as a simple bare screw attaching the door pulls in the front. The four motor R1T ute starts at under 70 grand in the US and would probably still be competitive after the usual taxes, charges and Government obstacles were cleared most likely walloping buyers around $150k in local trim. Which, again, in the case of the ForTwo is not completely unfair. [12][13] The popularity has been compared to that of kei cars in Japan. More car parks, EV charging stations and battery-swapping facilities will be built, and battery recycling systems developed at a faster pace, Li said. Under the extreme cold and high temperatures of -25 to 45 C, the vehicle has completed 28 tests over 300,000 kilometers. The 116 Absolute Best Black Friday Deals Right Now. when sales dipped for the first time since the 1990s, China Sends a Warning to the U.S. About Domestic EV Battery Production, Global EV Adoption Hits New High of 20 Million Thanks to Tiny Electric Cars, Electric Cars Sold In Record Numbers Globally In 2021, A Serious Threat to Tesla Emerges in Nissan. All rights reserved. The Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV is creating an awesome new market and as expected, other firms are following with similar models. Baojun, on the other hand, is a Wuling sub-brand aimed at the car market and was earlier to micro EVs than its parent company, with both the Smart-like E100 and E200. Could General Motors at least apply lessons learned from producing this super-cheap EV to other markets? This is paired to either a 9.2kWh, 13.9kWh, or 25.5kWh battery. }; microcar return to our shores, but it should be in e-Up! The enchanting little thing looks like loads of fun! These are the top discounts weve found across the web. At the end of last year, professor Masayoshi Yamamoto at Nagoya University took apart a car shipped to Japan to see how it was possible to produce the vehicle so cheaply. [14] The vehicle has been such a success that it has inspired a number of copycats and competitors, including the Chery QQ Ice Cream, Dongfeng Fengguang MINI EV,[15] and BAW S3. Slightly more substantial than the Ami, and rather more expensive, is Smart's ForTwo and ForFour which could probably land here well under forty grand. Priced this low, there is not much insulating the car from road noise. [6], Power is produced by an electric motor making a peak 20kW (27hp; 27PS) and 85Nm (63lbft) of torque[7] with rear-wheel drive, propelling the car to a stated top speed of 100km/h (62mph). }. margin-top: -19px; Sport seems to be the better of the two modes, providing not only slightly smarter acceleration but also more noticeable braking regeneration. s = d.createElement('script'); At the very first look, the car also looks small than usual cars. The battery is barely bigger than your phone's at 5.5kWh and the top speed roughly comparable to jogging, but if you've seen Sydney or Melbourne Saturday traffic 45km/h is a distant dream. The Mini EV is therefore likely to have issues more frequently, but it will also be cheaper to repair. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and Yes, the Citroen Ami is a quadricycle like the pilloried and terrifying Gee Whiz, but it's made by a proper car company Stellantis. 38 Photos Wuling - Hong Guang MINI EV specs: Two battery/range options 120 km (75 miles) of range using 9.3 kWh battery 170 km (106 miles) of range using 13.9 kWh battery top speed of 100 km/h. j.async = true; Pricing for the drop-top version has yet to be determined, but according to .css-vurnku{box-sizing:border-box;margin:0;min-width:0;}Automotive News the convertible will sell for between 100,000 yuan ($20,000) and 200,000 yuan ($42,100).. Limited to using a standard 220V AC outlet, charging is naturally slow, with the base battery pack taking six hours to fully recharge. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (Chinese: MiniEV) is a battery electric city car manufactured by SAIC-GM-Wuling since 2020. It's a small vehicle, without fancy safety systems, but the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture envisioned a front crumple zone. j.src = The front and rear lighting also appear less premium, going from two circular LEDs that looked like the headlights on the Honda e to a blockier shape that looks more like the c-shaped lights on a a lot of modern trucks. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and The score not being a 4 is mainly down to the considerable value on offer here, but we'd find it hard to ignore that lack of safety kit. [4] Retail deliveries began in China in July 2020. Latvian-based armoured vehicle manufacturer Dartz last year confirmed it had signed an agreement to import the electric micro car to Europe. img#wpstats{display:none} The cars crashed at 64 km/h (40 mph) each, with a 50% offset, which turned out to be deadly to the red neighborhood electric vehicle, despite both being similar in size and weight (560 kg Wuling vs 568 kg red EV). The Peugeot e-Expert has a silly name and isn't much to look at, but has an impressive driving range for a commercial vehicle (330km WLTP) and decent power and torque. However, cramming folks into those back seats isn't exactly pleasant. [5], The Mini EV can seat four people, and standard features including air conditioning, power windows, stereo system, storage and compartments. Externally, the Macaron version distinguishes itself from the standard Mini EV with a choice of funky pastel colors. w[ l ].push( { if(typeof window.DotMetricsObj != 'undefined') {DotMetricsObj.onAjaxDataUpdate();} if(typeof window.DotMetricsObj != 'undefined') {DotMetricsObj.onAjaxDataUpdate();} The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV is the result of a three-way joint venture. It was first manufactured and delivered sometime in July 2020. } ); The compact zero-emission hatchback reportedly weighs just 665kg. It's called the Hong Guang Mini EV, and one of its major selling points is the fact it only costs $4,500 (or $5,000 with air conditioning). You must appreciate that for many buyers, this will be their first car or their only option, and its infinitely safer than piling a family onto a motorbike or electric scooter. The area might hold something extremely tiny; however, the car contains charging cords on the bottom. Alongside the truck is the R1S, an attractively boxy SUV starting at around seventy grand in the States, so probably a $160,000 bet here. If you need a bit more capacity, the back seats simply push down and pull up via a strap. His favorite cars are anything with a manual transmission, and he's been known to spend hours just shifting through all the gears. Now you can get the top stories from Gizmodo delivered to your inbox. The Mini EV is a step up from this levelcloser to a Japanese kei micro car. var f = d.getElementsByTagName( s )[ 0 ], They're not cheap though, and here in Australia suffered from a bit of a Tiddly Cars from Toy Town image.