The Hongguang MINI EV, which has only been on the market for a month, has already overtaken the Tesla Model 3 to become the best-selling electric car in China in August.
SAIC-GM-Wuling's Hongguang MINI EV started to accept pre-orders in May this year, with nearly 20,000 orders in less than a month.
The electric car went on sale in July, and the company released figures showing that sales reached 15,000 units in August, doubling from the previous month. The Tesla Model 3 sold 11,800 units in the same period, essentially unchanged from the previous month.
The Hongguang MINI EV has a pre-sale price as low as RMB 28,800 yuan ($4,214), making it the first new energy model in China to be priced below RMB 30,000 yuan.
The Hongguang MINI EV is less than a tenth of the price of the Tesla Model 3, which is selling for a starting price of 291,800 yuan before subsidy.
Tesla produced 49,800 Model 3s in China in first half of the year
According to a survey conducted by d1ev.com, 59% of people were initially attracted to the Hongguang MINI EV because of its price.
The Hongguang MINI EV has just 17 horsepower and can travel about 105 miles on a single charge. At just 117 inches long, it's even "smaller" than the 151-inch Mini Cooper.
However, Hongguang MINI EV has accurately grasped the consumer demand for economical and convenient travel of low- and mid-range EVs and has taken a different path from high-end EVs, which focus on intelligence and service experience.
According to GGII statistics, China's sales of low-speed EVs grew at a high rate from 2013 to 2018. By the end of 2019, around 1.2 million low-speed EVs will be sold in China and the number of ownership will still be over 5 million. Hongguang mini is expected to gradually replace low-speed EVs with strong product power and quality after-sales service guarantee.
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