Posted on 02/13/2021 8:04:07 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
BEIJING -- On the showroom floor of a SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile dealership in Chongqing, a salesman enthusiastically recommended the Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV, an electric car that has quickly won over Chinese drivers since its nationwide launch in July.
The boxy compact lives up to its name, measuring less than 3-meters long and 1.5-meters wide, yet can still accommodate four people. The price starts at 28,800 yuan ($4,460), though the most popular model, with air conditioning, goes for just over $5,000.
"If you make a 13,000 yuan down payment, the rest will be interest-free," the salesman said.
Though the Hong Guang Mini lags well behind offerings from the likes of Tesla when it comes to range and performance, its convenience and low price have made it one of China's bestselling "new-energy" vehicles, a category that includes electrics and plug-in hybrids.
The compact has been a big hit for state-owned SAIC Motor, China's top automaker. SAIC holds a majority stake in SAIC-GM-Wuling, the joint venture that produces and sells the car and is known locally as Wuling, and General Motors is a major shareholder as well.
Marketed as "the people's commuting tool," the basic model can travel 120 km on a full charge and has a top speed of 100 kph -- good enough for day-to-day driving for most consumers. It does not use a cutting-edge battery, which helps keep the price down, and it can conveniently be charged from a standard outlet.
The car sold 112,000 units between July and the end of 2020, ranking second for the year behind Tesla's Model 3, but first on a monthly basis. It is also believed to be the second-best-selling electric model worldwide, again behind only the Model 3.
(Excerpt) Read more at asia.nikkei.com ...
Wow, for anyone who wants to own their own short bus.
Everywhere I lived in China, other than HK the voltage was 110, not 220.
“Have the Free-trader Trump-haters apologized yet for being TOTALLY WRONG about China (while Trump was totally right), or am I dreaming?”
They were not wrong. You are assuming they care about the same things you care about.
They were right that they would make billions of dollars if we laid down for China. They were right about the only thing they care about.
Runs on 5000 AA batteries.
I wonder how many patents they stole this time.
________________________________________________________
Any and all of them that weren’t nailed down and completely hidden. Standard Operating Procedure.
bookmark
I thought they were 18650 batteries.
I hate to say this, but it appears the parent company is one of the largest in China, and even owns MG.
We call those golf carts in the US.
“This isn’t your father’s Adobe.”
“The compact has been a big hit for state-owned SAIC Motor, China’s top automaker. “
Owned by CCP?
Anyone have a problem with this?
The primary difference between 50 Hz (Hertz) and 60 Hz (Hertz) is, well, 60Hz is 20% higher in frequency.
For a generator or induction motor pump (in simple terms) it means 1500/3000 RPM or 1800/3600 RPM (for 60Hz). ...
For example with 50 Hz, generator will be running at 3000 rpm against 3600 rpm with 60 Hz.
Elon is busy playing with Bitcoin right now and can’t be bothered.
In a world where people are pulled over and shot for exceeding 40 mph, this car might workout very well.
Thank you.
I found this on several pages devoted to travelers, and from an electrical standards website.
It looked like the Chinese and Australian electrical standards follow each other, so I went with it.
Would still be interested in how long it takes to fully charge a car like this.
Butt ugly...and then some.
Will the Chinese press be reporting on the cars that catch fire? I doubt it.
The chart is confusing because that first entry I lures HK which is part of China but behaves like it is part of the UK
A june bug splattered on the front bumper of a semi comes to mind...
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