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The electric vehicle market around the world is growing at a very fast rate and Tesla is proudly leading the pack. However, this has not stopped new EV entrants from trying to steal the spotlight and one small company in China has managed to do so, in some way.
The Hong Guang Mini EV, made through a joint-partnership with China state-owned SAIC Motor, Wuling Motors and US-based General Motors, has outsold Tesla’s most common unit the Model 3, two months in a row. In January 2020, The Hong Guang Mini EV sold 36,000 units and 20,000 units in February, compared to 21,500 for the Tesla Model 3 in January and 13,700 in February.
These numbers are impressive for a tiny city car that only sells in China for approximately KES. 500,000 brand new. The Hong Guang Mini EV comes with a claimed range of 170KMs per full charge and a top speed of 100KMs (this one is definitely not for the Subaru boys). In terms of dimensions, the car is actually mini – as the name suggests.
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Image Courtesy GM
The EV has a wheelbase (the distance between the front and back tyres) of 2 meters, and is just under 3 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and stands about 1.6 meters tall. Its total weight is about 665KGs and it can apparently carry four people comfortably. With these dimensions, you can see that the car is only meant for city commute and this could be the reason for its huge success.
For a car that is only sold in China to outsell one of the most known brands in the EV market is a pretty big deal and with reports that the Hong Guang Mini EV could be launching in other markets too, Tesla should be worried.
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