At the beginning of 2021 tesla model 3 lost its leadership among the best-selling electric vehicles
in the world in this ranking it had to give way to the small chinese hatchback wuling hongwang
mini ev which in just a few months managed to gather a whole army of loyal fans in its
homeland now how did that happen we will tell you in this review
sales began in july 2020 and within the first 20 days the mini ev manufacturer received
15000 orders for six months this number increased eight fold and amounted to 120000 cars
and according to the results during the first two months of 2021 the chinese baby became the
best-selling electric car in the world leaving behind the permanent leader tesla model 3.
such impressive sales dynamics were made possible by the unprecedentedly low price of this
electric car just over four thousand two hundred dollars in the basic version and about 5.5 000 in
the improved configuration for comparison the price of the tesla model 3 in the domestic car
market in china is about 42000 which is 10 times more expensive than the mini ev but did the
price only provoke explosive interest in the mini ev in the middle kingdom in fact there are
several reasons first because the chinese had the opportunity to buy either expensive models of
electric cars or super cheap electro capsules at a price of about one thousand to fifteen
hundred dollars they did not need a driver's license the budget niche of electric cars was not
represented by anything worthy and the mini ev was finally offered not surprisingly middle-
income chinese and young people started buying this car in masses secondly for more than 10
years in china there has been an active campaign to popularize electric vehicles since 2010 the
government has provided subsidies to buyers of green vehicles although the program has
gradually phased out over the years the chinese have already accepted that electric cars are not
exotic but convenient as well as economical thus in the country there are state benefits for the
purchase of electric vehicles on credit discounts are being actively introduced for the payment
of parking lots and road tolls the mini ev falls under all of these programs thirdly residents of
chinese megalopolises have long shown a demand for a cheap electric car which gives an
opportunity to comfortably move through city traffic jams and park in a minimal area the mini ev
was finally able to satisfy the needs of the motorists who do not care about high speed and
special comfort but need maneuverability compactness and a sense of their own space in the city
traffic of people and cars and yet how exactly did the mini ev maker managed to get into the
heart of chinese motorists so deftly the angular if not clumsy appearance of this kid reminiscent
of japanese k cars with a characteristic cubic design played with a length of 2.9 meters and a
width of 1.5 meters the mini ev really looks like a cube from a children's construction set
to which miniature wheels are attached the technical equipment is quite consistent with this
appearance the 13 kilowatt electric motor produces only 17.4 horsepower and provides a
maximum speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour very modest but in busy chinese metropolises
it is not often possible to accelerate even to 50.
Despite its apparent simplicity the mini ev can hardly be called a primitive mini car the
manufacturer did not equip the electric car with steering wheel adjustments a glove compartment
or rear seats with head restraints the trunk of a car is more like a mini safe nevertheless the car is
equipped with such useful options as abs wheel pressure sensors rear parking sensor power
windows a stereo system and even air conditioning albeit very very weak the most technological
element of the mini ev is the intelligent control system and preheating of the battery at low
temperatures the manufacturer made sure that the battery status can be monitored in a special
mobile application from a smartphone it is important to note that the battery itself is very low
power the charge is designed for a distance of up to 120 kilometers in the basic version and up to
170 kilometers in the top end configuration however in the mode of urban operation it is no
longer necessary especially when you consider that the electric car can be charged from an
outlet in your own garage or at one of the charging stations that are ubiquitous in chinese cities
it is interesting to know that it took only 12 months from the development of the concept to mass
production of the mini ev the success of this best seller in such a short time is due to the efficient
operation of the joint venture sake motor liu xiaowuling motors and general motors the global auto
giant's involvement has allowed chinese manufacturers to keep pace with world leaders like tesla in
electrification and has helped accelerate vehicle production with proven technology
this partly allowed the price to be drastically reduced in fact the mini ev used the same
developments that general motors has long and successfully applied in its main lineup if you add to this
the cheap labor the simplest finishing materials the lack of complex electronic filling
and the chinese government subsidies to the manufacturers of electric vehicles then the ncredibly low
cost of the mini ev becomes quite natural despite booming sales in china the mini ev is unlikely to be
seen on american and european roads limited top speed low speed low power and an unusual japanese
style will become the main obstacle of this car for resale in europe and america in china where
thousands of queues lined up behind this mini car from the first day
the mini ev will certainly continue to break records china already accounts for 50 percent of
all electric vehicle sales globally and by 2035 the government expects electric and hybrid vehicles to
account for half of its new vehicle fleet all in all it looks like the mini ev inchina has a great future
would you dare to buy such an electric car for city trips .
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