The new people’s car in China: Micro EVs

To many, the latest star in China’s electro-mobility scene is perhaps a little unexpected.

Boxy, compact, and tiny, the Hongguang Mini EV is built by the joint venture between Chinese automakers SAIC Motor and Wuling Motors and US carmaker General Motors. In China, it is hailed as the new people’s car.

It also provides a much-needed boost for the EV market, which has been in a downturn after the government decided to thin out subsidies last year.

Photo credit: Wuling Motors

And it’s a phenomenon that is not going away anytime soon: Industry experts see more automakers making their own micro EVs and exporting them to the US and European markets. Southeast Asia could be next.

People’s car

When Wuling Motors introduced the Mini EV in July, it quickly became one of the most in-demand EVs in China. In August, the company claimed that it had received around 50,000 orders and that around 15,000 cars were delivered 20 days after the initial launch.

For comparison, market leader Tesla sold 11,800 units of Model 3 – its cheapest and best-selling model in China – in August, according to statistics released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The Mini EV base model retails at 28,800 yuan (US$4,200), around a tenth of what Tesla’s Model 3 costs and half the price of the cheapest EV on the market.

Wuling Hongguang Mini EV / Photo credit: Timothy Dixon

The attractively priced vehicle appeals to the younger generation. According to the company, around 40% of its buyers are between 20 to 30 years old.

The main reason why the Mini EV quickly became a hit in China is its low price, which Wuling Motors had managed to achieve without the help of government subsidies due to the model’s short range.

The SAIC-affiliated Wuling Motors is a large automaker in China that has spent the past decade and a half selling micro vans and micro pickups. Its slogan “What the people want, we build” says it all: Its goal is not to build a Tesla rival but something everyone can afford to buy.

The company adopts a “small margins, big quantities” strategy.

Go big by going small