If there were small, 4 seater, no frills EVs with at least 150 Miles of range and with 50Kw DC fast charging for ~$15,000 they'd sell well.. for those who want cheap brand new EVs right now. (Basically a smart forfour without the crap range and insanely high price to what you get and with more boot/trunk space)
YES !!!! Governments need to tax the ridiculous, bloated suv/crossovers off of the market. No one "needs" those. Remember 40 years ago when most people were quite content with their Metros and mk1 Fiestas? Now most people appear to want huge cars that are actually quite small inside. Have to keep up with the neighbours....
Man one thing I LOVE about this design is just how bloody simple it is! No giant touchscreen displays, no overcomplicated UIs and Infotainment systems... They need to make more cars simple like this!
That is exactly what is missing in Europe, cheap entry level EV's. I think you would appreciate that low roof if it was pouring with rain and you were trying to load to boot. Great review as always.
@@adrianaadnan9958 Ever since the Gee Wizz came out electric vehicle designers have been in competition to produce ugly cars. I'd buy one of these now if I could be sure nobody would recognise me driving it.
Europes legislation makes these impossible. These have to be registered as moped cars and they are limited to 45 km/h. So no one would buy those. Citroen Ami for example, if it would go like 100 km/h it would sell 100x more.
Exactly the type of vehicle required to cut city pollution plus it's affordable to virtually everyone. A challenge for UK car makers to produce an equivalent rather than focusing upon premium models. An EV for the masses is exactly whats needed urgently.
I would absolutely buy one in a heartbeat in Canada. Even paying a small 2 year loan for one of these would be cheaper than the fuel alone I put into my current car
A big company can order 10,000 Wuling in 20 different colors and give them to its employees as Christmas gifts or annual bonuses. It makes everyone happy and saves the environment too.
How is buying 10,000 units of a car fully made out of plastic running on electricity largely obtained from burning fossil or coal going to help the environment
@@BernardoMartinsMateus Power plants are much more efficient than internal combustion engines, and protecting the environment does not mean that fossil fuels are not used at all, your mind is too narrow
@@BernardoMartinsMateusTrue, it's better for the environment to keep your older car running as long as possible. Producing and consuming new items isn't green when you account for the energy used to source the materials and manufacture the product.
You can save even more money by being buried in it when you get killed in a fender bender. Or just allow the batteries to cremate you when they inevitably catch on fire
@@jimdunleavypiano Totaly agreed with that, If you are not save inside a small metal box then you are not save outside of one. Infrastructure is the key to making transportation more save. If people tink that a small car is not save something is really wrong with the traffic planning.
@@MrAntidodo Freight is moved with far more energy-efficency by rail - and more efficiently again by canal. Just think what might happen if human beings designed their environment by first principles, instead of by willy-nilly. Enough dreaming.
An old wisdom from ancient China, 3 phases of life : "看山是山, 看山不是山, 看山还是山". in this case, Seeing car as a car, seeing car not a car(class/status), back to seeing car as a car. We invented car to shorten travel time, then we turned it into a status symbol, now its time to see it as what it is.
This car WILL succeed in South Asia if its launched there for an affordable price. Because of its price and practicality, everyone would ride these in cities. And even those families, who already own a car will also end up buying this as well. It will also be useful for many old people who just need to travel from one place to another in a city.
THIS. This is the EV I would buy. Perfect for city traffic, decent range with the bigger battery, simple to park and live with, and no unnecessary spec. Wasn't there talk of some company in Central Europe which was in talks of manufacturing a version of this car for Europe? I imagine that legislation will ruin it, though since bigger cars make this car more dangerous to be in than it actually is. We'd be better off banning SUVs and creating incentives for small, space-efficient alternatives to big cars. Small cars are only really less safe compared to bigger cars BECAUSE of bigger cars. Except for at speeds no cars are really safe at anyway. EDIT: Well, I found it. Only available in Lithuania, and twice the price with better range but somehow much less appealing. So, like I thought, they ruined the point of it by making it a lot more expensive with more features aimed to improve "safety".
I don't see why the EU requires these cars to be "safer" given here in London I see motorcycles and bikes all over the place. This is way safer than any bike in my opinion. The Eu governments should exempt these from import tax if they really want us to transit to a sustainable economy.
@@gregg2000 - A Tesla doing 200 miles an hour will self drive into you. - I wish Tesla had a old-school, no frills version like this. I dont want self-drive and to play computer games on the road. - but Chinese cars are not good, the wheels will probably fall off within a year, Its not green because the manufacturing is not green, and if it is in landfill within 10 years - its REALLY not green.
I really hope these come into the UK for around the 3-4K bracket. I have the base Skoda citgo-e on a very cheap lease until mid next year so this would be a perfect replacment as it would meet my needs perfectly.
Love it, I hope it makes it to the UK soon, would be perfect for a city car hire where I could rent it for a few hours. As a commuting and shopping car it's perfect, no need for fancy materials, and if you want something fancier you can just pimp it out yourself
I've not seen many Chinese EVs on the road, I really hope that can change soon. Everything's still £20k+ and at this rate by the time people have transitioned it will be too late. We need vehicles like this available now!
Indeed - it might even save getting speeding tickets as it's so easy to slip past 20 in 20mph zone, 30 in 30 mph zone, etc. .... & avoids the hassle of warming up too.
honestly, for commuting 4 miles, I'd recommend an e-scooter. If it rains and there's a bus, you can fold it up and take it upright between your knees in the bus.
@@Hamachingo I did commute on a bicycle for about 4 years (two of it on an e-bike). That is indeed a good option. Unfortunately, there is no bus service where I live. 😞It's just nice to drive a car when the weather isn't ideal.
I'd totally drive this, and it would be perfect 95% of the time for many people. Just imagine how much money you'd save compared to buying a big car/SUV/truck, then just hire something larger with longer range for a weekend or week when you needed it.
I’ve always been tempted by that concept, but I think ultimately what’s put me off is horror stories about hire car damage charges - I’ve had my own car scuffed three times while parked so it doesn’t bear thinking about 😬
I've never had an issue with damage charges on a hire car in the UK or abroad, but if you are worried you can pay a small charge for extra insurance cover.
@Capt Shiny We need to understand their motivations for buying them and appeal to those. For some it's space, for others it's the joy of literally looking down on everyone, for others it's accessibility. All of these can be appealed to. I know someone who didn't particularly like SUVs but with a physical limitation found them the easiest to get in and out of. Others like the perceived cachet of a larger car. Some imagination can win them all over 😉
The price along with the range (especially with the bigger battery) makes the Wuling Mini EV a much better prospect the a Citroen Ami, which has been severely hampered by the 28mph top speed in order to make it legal for teenagers to drive (from 14 I believe). Having a 62mph top speed makes it viable outwith the urban environment where the Ami just isn't. I'd certainly consider one if they bring them to the UK (and keep the price low)
Brilliant! Unbeatable at that price. Back seats I don't need, rather more luggage space. Even LHD doesn't bother me. And no touchscreen to distract your attention from the road. But it still doesn't solve the congestion problem...
A wake up call? GM is involved. Plus, all of the top manufacturers already make some sort of affordable EV with prices and technology only getting better. What year do you think this is? 2011?
This video was flagged up to me after looking at a review of the new cheap Citroen EV going on sale in France around now. (Think the model name is AMI ? ) By comparison this Chinese offering is far better in every way. - Quality. - Battery power and range. - Top speed. - Style. - Storage space. All for a much lower projected price. Could be less than 4K in UK.? I’d certainly consider buying this. But wouldn’t dream of buying the toy like Citroen.
I would even pay 5k - 6k if this had fast charging for the occasional longer journeys. But I definitely long for a small no frills electric cars to seat at least 4 grown ups. no massive lcd screens, no insane acceleration but it needs to be a pretty or at least quirky looking car.
This car doesnt really drive well above 60 tho, I think they could lift the price a little (as you said) and bring in those features, but I guess that will happen in the near future with its popularity
Wuling smartly made this car very easy to accessorize, especially targetting gen Z female Chinese customers, who put giant anime decals outside and all sorts of ornaments inside. I saw an article where some girl spent almost $2000 USD customizing her Mini EV, which is crazy since the car only costs 5000!
Please comment on features such as: 1) How comfortable the seats are 2) How much headroom is there (give your height for context 3) The maximum range when driven at top speed vs max range when city driving 4) All-around visibility. Hard stats are more informative than your impressions of what other drivers need in an EV.
120km with 9.2kwh battery is very impressive. Then why I wonder does it's llithium polymer battery not pass the energy density test to qualify for the state subsidies ⁉️🤔 .
Absolutely, it'd be a brilliant learner drive, & later if they get the itch to mod the interior it'd be a doddle to spruce it up with a thin semi-rigid foam backing & covered with vinyl, imitation carbon fibre, or fabric. Maybe some custom wood veneer panels to give it some real flair. The thing with plastic is that if you screw up, it's never going to be a nightmare, as fillers & plastic are readily available in hardware stores. Even modding the exterior would be fun, the boxy shape of the panels are probably paper-thin so not adding much to the rigidity & easily be disguised by knocking up custom fibreglass panels. 👍
The kids have been doing so. Even the manufacturer themselves presented a convertible demo on a car exhibition and said it could be mass produced later
Imagine when a retard in that gas guzzling SUV or a semi truck hits you at 50-90km/h while you're travelling in this tin can of a car... your family will probably prefer cremation over open casket... if you want safety always buy the biggest car you can afford/drive... sure it would be nice to not waste power and there was more space but I still prefer safety...
@@D-M-J I'm so sorry to burst ur bubble, but gas-guzzling SUVs will be illegal to produce in the near future. And for 3k euro, you can't even get a 4 seated golf cart in Europe.
Wuling Hongguang MINI EV car does not highly rely on charging piles, it can be charged directly with the 220V three-plug power supply of the ordinary household grounding wire. It takes about 6 hours to 9 hours to charge. There is a macaron version that looks more cute
OK, so double the price, double the battery, add a fast charger, and increase max speed to 75mph. That would sell really in the UK. All that play I'd remove the rear seats permanently to get a little extra space, and I reckon it'd do 95% of my driving with only a slight change from my Clio.
I'm considering buying one. Then I look at my old lancer. It's free, because I bought it 5 years ago for $1500. It has a top speed of 210kph. It has a range of 650km. It refuels everywhere in 1 minute. It accelerates well. Can seat 5 while still having the fairly big boot free. It's reliable. Cheap to repair. Trusted brand. Known element. not expensive on fuel. Fun to drive. Is allowed in my country. Looks less stupid. Wow, if it didn't pollute, my car would be a dream compared to that wuling.
Now that’s an EV I could drive on the daily commute. I am utterly sick of over complication on modern cars so this is a breath of fresh air. Puts me in mind of a Panda crossed with a Nissan Cube.
Plastic interior is fine. I want one ... now! I'll keep my SLK for weekends, but this is the perfect runabout for everyday local use. It needs to be right hand drive for the UK.
Sort of ticks things but at £3.5k you could strip the body off and bang on something more fun. A rolling EV chassis would be a starter for your green Revolution.
It's really perfect for most of the world. Simple is always a better choice. This car will sell well most everywhere. Any safety concerns can be adequately addressed. It will always be safer than a motorcycle or scooter.
Saftey concerns is huge while this car is little more than something to die in. Mass always wins and with as little mass as this Pot has it will be like a ping pong ball.
@@LittleolBitty You seem to perhaps be trying to imagine one of these things flying down a highway in Dallas Texas amongst big rigs and oversized pickups. The reality is that this is a far east city car designed to go grab the groceries from the local supermarket not cruise the interstate like Mad Max. Other ICE cars in the class stand the same and will weigh less so being fixated on mass as a downside is pointless when the job is done already. Everyone loves the effort you put in though. Keep it up.
I think that one is just perfect. That's all I need: A car that has a range of at least 100km and is not expensive. Because that's what cars are all for: driving. I don't need thousands of extra features. Thanks for the video.
For 4-5k just a little run about to use to go to town or as a backup ,I would get one for fun . Cheeper than a motorcycle and it's rain proof. I'm in USA.
its a back to basics. how cars should be. for a purpose. not all this "emotion" rubbish. the uk really needs to create a class of small cars like they have in japan. too many monster suvs these days.
Create, in the UK, is there not a potential, health n safety issue, political correctness issue, political or being in not quite the right clique issue with that idea of creating, careful now you will need a hi-viz vest you might be on to something lol
Perfect for seniors as well. Going to the grocery store, doctor's appointments or picking up a prescription. Short trips, this is perfect. That is why we will never see it. Other companies will lobby the government to keep it out so they can sell us their over priced heaps.
I would have this as a second car ... yes, I know seconds cars are bad but I'm running an ICE second car at the moment and our nearest supermarket is a 50miles round trip, which this would do just fine. Sell it for £6000 in the UK and they wouldn't be able to keep up with demand.
ITS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT gave away my S Class 5.0L V8 Mercedes cos I just don't use it. Get the bus into the city centre, just need something for the odd trip to nearby towns...
@@yosyp5905 For such endeavours car renting was invented. Also its not true at all that you need more than one vehice to move. With furniture you will need a van anyway and three people can sit in the front.
well im keeping my 2 litre diesel classic going as long as I can and im looking for a little electric run abaout like this as a second car for town use . speed range and price are all important.
I agree, Steve, but these cheap EV's will never make it to Ireland...the big car manufacturers just wouldn't allow them in. I've just recently found out that even the Dacia Spring is not coming here. It's a real shame, I'm desperate to get an ev, but I don't want all the ridiculous and unnecessary tech, and there's no way I can afford what's out there at the minute. This would be perfect for me, and I'm sure would sell really well.
@@adarbs6384 I don't think it would sell well here anyway because people seem to have a boner for crossovers lately. Not many people want a small vehicle like this. But even if they made it right hand drive for Japan or any other country that drives on the left I would try to import it
@@adarbs6384 Theyre not even SUV's. The things they drive are front wheel drive that aren't sporty or utilitarian but journalists started calling crossovers , SUV's so now people call them SUV's. They're stupid things. Some say but we need more space. I've been in a few of those things. They are no bigger than any smallish hatchback inside. If they wanted more space these things called estate cars exist. I would be more than happy to buy one of these micro electric cars though. All I need is a roof over my head with doors when its raining and windy and something to get me and my little dog around with the ability to do my weekly shopping. I live alone with my dog so these micro electric cars are perfect for people like me
@@Steve30x I'm exactly the same as you. And I know the boot space is limited, but like you, 9 times out of 10 it's just me and the dog so I'd just keep the back seats folded down. I personally think they are terrific, and I'd buy one in a heartbeat
@@beachcomber2008 from what was said in the review and what I can see on the web, including wikipedia, it is air conditioning. Only in the top spec obviously and it also has electric windows and a stereo. I agree range will suffer but again the review calls this out and said it didn't make a big difference.
@@NRajah I bow to you, sir. I'm not against the craft in principle, having done thousands of miles in a tiny-engined 2CV. In fact I wish it well, and hope that it competes well with Teslas - enough to make Elon wince a bit.
@@beachcomber2008 respect for you and your 2CV. While this mini EV will do good business in China I doubt anything like it will make it to Europe so we will be stuck with a choice between vaying expensive large EV's and Elon won't even notice. :-( It's a real shame as a car in this price bracket would get students and local commuters into EVs and the polution levels in major towns and cities would finally clear.
@@NRajah Yes. That was my point. But the small car is the hardest to do (the Mini was sold at a loss for a decade), and could break the firmest human resolve possible, including Elon's. This seems a good start down that road. ( I'd prefer the Starship to fulfil its objective. ) This car needs a stripped-down Tesla control system in place of its present electronics. That would be something.
I love the updates from China but they all come with the health warning - you can't buy one in the UK. This report leads with the headline price in pounds which is doubly-frustrating. So I challenge @Fully Charged Show to bring one of these over to the UK get it legally on the road and give us the full breakdown of how much it cost to buy, ship, tax and insure. When you've done all that, I'll buy it off you - for £3,400 of course.
NYC here this car is a dream. It would need to go faster because it's too slow for highways between boro's or driving to LI or NJ when there isn't traffic. If it capped out at 75 or 80, then driving 65 regularly shouldn't be a problem.
Very nice, uncomplicated video for a nice, uncomplicated car. This is exactly the kind of car (even if not an EV) that urban mobility needs…..small, easy to get around in and park, just enough space for short city trips (even with 4), or the quick grocery run. I love its practicality and simplicity. Being an EV is icing on the cake, and its got a very respectable range, efficiency and driving speed. Love that it’s “old school with electric”…..key, handbrake, actual buttons…. Looks cheerful too ! Would buy this in a heartbeat if it were available here !
Crazy thing is that the 89 Corolla started at $9000 USD, which after inflation is over $19,000, but this thing costs $5000 in 2021 money! And the Wuling comes with AC, power windows, airbags, and even parking sensors, none of which would be on that old Corolla. The mini EV is absurdly cheap.
Great report. Wow; I am laughing my head off at yesterday's $5,000 foldable carbon bicycle. These things should be replacing scooter-sharing startups in a hurry, although a self-driving feature that returned them to the garage on their own every night would be an important addition I think. I wonder what Elon has in store for this competition?
I don't think Tesla would want to compete with this for reasons of market branding. I always felt that Tesla goal would be autonomous cars, and if they come into being, the main market would probably be companies than consumers. but we will see, no company ever complain there being too much profit... we never know.
@@lagrangewei It's true that we would see these things littered all over the place - like discarded scooters - in any ride-sharing service that used them, but does autonomous capability multiply the cost of a car times-10? All steering and braking components are built today to fit self-driving vehicles (I think), so there shouldn't be a great difference.
Henry Ford a little more than a hundred years ago had a similar approach with his first mass produced Model T's. Build an affordable vehicle. The Fords were for the most part quite reliable given the various crudities to be expected in a pioneer effort. The big question I would with these min-EV's is how reliable they are given their very low initial price. If they in fact hold up fairly well and don't rack up bills in the repair shops I think this car or other similar to it have the potential to revolutionize the auto industry.
I have a small companymy. My employees and I drive around the city a lot during the day. I would love to change all my company cars which were all produced from 1996 to 1999 ( I chose them because they use almost no fuel the biggest engine in my fleet is 1.0l) to this little cute thing. It would be such an upgrade! Air con, electric windows, no parking fee (where I live elecric cars don't pay for parking), parking sensors and zero paperwork connected to buying fuel. Just one bill for electricity. I hope it will get to europe or european manufacturers will release similar models in similar prices.
I think this would be great as a local run around car - but we are so heavily regulated and saddled with overdone safety measures that I doubt it would be capable of meeting regulations in the UK. (PS Of course long range 'motorway' cars should have lots of safety measures and high crash resistance, but could we not have more pragmatic rules for slow city cars?)
This would be great for 90% of my driving. My Volt would get the rest of the job done until I could afford a longer-range EV. The fact the most Americans drive around ALONE, in gigantic trucks and SUVs is sickening.
@@benholroyd5221 . You do know that NCAP was started by the U.K where EU nations adopted the Transport Research Laboratory who fought long and hard to improve safety. Delays ensued as France and Italy tried to block NCAP but other EU nations joined us.
@@bordersw1239 I didn't know that. So does that mean the EU is good, because it created a larger market for cars meeting our safety standards. Or is it bad, because we could have raised them higher, thus creating a small market of extremely safe, but extremely expensive cars.
@@benholroyd5221 . Well it was certainly a help to saving lives but I think we should all be looking at a global safety standard. Is it acceptable that EU manufacturers allow their cars to be built and driven in 2nd/3rd world countries with lower safety features?
@@bordersw1239 you could equally take the view that it would be unfair to price the world's poorest out of cars by insisting on safety features that add expense. I'd like to see a classification in-between quadricycle and car, for things like this that can only do 60.
@@ronloc3309 - Let's keep it realistic. Put this "car" in Europe and the price will more than triple!! Suddenly wouldn't feel so appealing! Meanwhile let's just say the Citroen AMI is about half the price, or slightly less than an Aixam... one of it's direct competitors!
@@LittleJoshVarela oh that must be exhausting. But 12 hr in sitting position makes cycling a necessity. They say sitting that long is equally harmful as smoking 3 packages of cigarettes. You might recover some part of the damage by cycling home
If this was in 🇺🇸 I’d gladly buy one as a backup or around town car, I’m a simple man, I don’t need anything complex, if it’s got plastic I’m fine with that
We need more cars like this! Back to basics. Most new cars are far too complicated, expensive, and with things we can easily live without. Where can I buy one of these that is ready for UK the roads?
Looks well built and the styling and interior design is spot on. Like the orange accent. I'd have one as a daily commuter, shopping and general round town. Hopefully they might make them in RHD too. The real issue with any car is your respective countries Government tax and safety laws (ncap, ancap, DOT etc) and sales tax etc. These are enough to kill off importing many small efficient cars. 'Politics is the art of looking for a problem where none exists, and applying the wrong remedy' quote from the late Sir Robert Muldoon, NZ Prime Minister. I'm sure this is universally true.
Buy one to put in the boot of a Tesla instead of a spare tire… As the former owner of a Sinclair C5 - I would love one of these for my daily commute of 6 miles…
@@glenf4115 that might be the case with most vehicles,it's safer than a motorbike or a bicycle,vehicles are just dangerous but it's never stopped people driving
@@MannyJazzcats Just because youre in a coffin with wheels doesnt make it safer. A motorbike is easier to manouver and in this little shitbox you would get stuck and smashed into pieces even at lower speeds. Motorbikes is not good when it comes to safty - thats right. But that is something motorbike drivers has to improve. Just because motorbikes are more unsafe it doesnt mean cars should become death traps as well.
Did you look underneath that car? It's got a cart axle at the back with the elec motor mounted on the diff. It's also got 12" wheels. There are much better engineered cars available for the same price. One is the Lumin - proper front wheel drive setup with 14" wheels.
Having had a Zoe and now a Kia Soul ev, this might be just right for a retired old man like me! Simple and small and I have a drive and a wall charger in place. If only.
I bet it's gonna cost more (if it ever comes that is), im guessing somewhere between 8k to 10k because we're not allowed to have anything nice for less than that
With the sun and the wind I will travel forever. . . since I consume electricity to travel, why not recover some of it using a mini or micro wind generator, with vertical axis, placed externally somewhere in the car and a system of solar panels? These systems will deliver energy. . forever. (I mean: an object that moves, like a car, in front of it will create a vortex, the wind. Which, when it hits the wind turbine, will generate electricity that will recharge the batteries.) Hoping that the idea you like it (apart from the various technical problems) I would be happy for you, Omega, to advertise the idea. .. and lots of compliments for your program.)
@@jochem1986 - Drowsy and hot? Aww, poor sweet baby. 😁 C'mon, now - you can do it: open a window, using the handle provided. It goes round and round and round... If it's a bit chilly, wear some clothes. Cold hands? Get some 1950s driving gloves. And if you're too hot behind the wheel, do what I do: get naked. 😲
@@jochem1986 Get more sleep on a night, stay adequately hydrated and dont rely on stimulants to live. If you think the car's too small for you, get a bigger one. Problem solved
I would love this for daily driving around the city taking kids from school and to their other activities. What I would change is the access to the back seats and a slightly bigger boot for when I get the kids from school and go straight to the supermarket for some groceries. Suppose I could use the passenger 10:53 front seat too, but the boot would be better. And at times I'd like to be able to hook up the phone for Waze (at least a USB socket would be great and a place to set a phone stand). Other than that, it's great for the price.
@@tonystanley5337 Yeah and in colder climates, you would be lucky to do 75 :) NEDC is wildly optimistic, that's why for example EU has moved on to WLTP, which is A LOT more realistic. You can actually do the mileage that WLTP states, while the only way to do what NEDC says is to put it on a flatbed truck.
@@tonystanley5337 Actually the NEDC range here is very close to what you get on city driving, the biggest discrepancies come from higher speed which this car isn't even capable of.
@@delboy7039 Then the question becomes...How many people in these regions have a driveway that they can park in and charge the car with their "slow charger" If they are living in flats and have to "trickle charge" their cars for many hours at a public charger, it might become a big problem.
Yes, that is true or travel by train or bus. I meant those who already owned a gas car. The long term goal is to replace that gas car with a long range EV like a Tesla, but in the mean time buy a micro car ev to save up money for the real car. If you live in a city and don't drive much a micro car might be all you need, but if you live way from the city a long range EV is needed.
Electric window, luxury 😂 There was a time in the west when that was the must have on my next car. What a super car for the money. I was looking at an E-bicycle that was more expensive than that👍
Would you buy a Wuling Mini EV? Do you think smaller, cheaper, no-frills EVs are the way to get the masses to switch? Tell us below!
hell yeah!
If there were small, 4 seater, no frills EVs with at least 150 Miles of range and with 50Kw DC fast charging for ~$15,000 they'd sell well.. for those who want cheap brand new EVs right now.
(Basically a smart forfour without the crap range and insanely high price to what you get and with more boot/trunk space)
For the price and the quality it's a no brainer
Yes
YES !!!! Governments need to tax the ridiculous, bloated suv/crossovers off of the market. No one "needs" those.
Remember 40 years ago when most people were quite content with their Metros and mk1 Fiestas?
Now most people appear to want huge cars that are actually quite small inside. Have to keep up with the neighbours....
Man one thing I LOVE about this design is just how bloody simple it is!
No giant touchscreen displays, no overcomplicated UIs and Infotainment systems...
They need to make more cars simple like this!
Yes please!
Spot on!
That is exactly what is missing in Europe, cheap entry level EV's. I think you would appreciate that low roof if it was pouring with rain and you were trying to load to boot. Great review as always.
@@adrianaadnan9958 cheapest 4 wheels
@@adrianaadnan9958 Ever since the Gee Wizz came out electric vehicle designers have been in competition to produce ugly cars.
I'd buy one of these now if I could be sure nobody would recognise me driving it.
Yes and no. Quality issues would keep Europeans at bay. Chinese products have improved quite a lot but they are not ready yet.
Check out the Dacia Spring 8000 eur to be bought from Romania . If you know someone from there :)
Europes legislation makes these impossible. These have to be registered as moped cars and they are limited to 45 km/h. So no one would buy those. Citroen Ami for example, if it would go like 100 km/h it would sell 100x more.
Exactly the type of vehicle required to cut city pollution plus it's affordable to virtually everyone. A challenge for UK car makers to produce an equivalent rather than focusing upon premium models. An EV for the masses is exactly whats needed urgently.
是的 ，五菱的口号就是：制造人民需要的东西。
I would absolutely buy one in a heartbeat in Canada. Even paying a small 2 year loan for one of these would be cheaper than the fuel alone I put into my current car
Me too.
Same here. This car is perfect.
same
Unfortunately anything "China" made car even with collaboration with GM will not come to north America.... They considered it as competition 😞
@@spacecadet76 There is no competition...
I don't see any american company making a mini EV for 5k
A big company can order 10,000 Wuling in 20 different colors and give them to its employees as Christmas gifts or annual bonuses. It makes everyone happy and saves the environment too.
Is that what you are hoping your company would do?
How is buying 10,000 units of a car fully made out of plastic running on electricity largely obtained from burning fossil or coal going to help the environment
@@BernardoMartinsMateus Power plants are much more efficient than internal combustion engines, and protecting the environment does not mean that fossil fuels are not used at all, your mind is too narrow
@@BernardoMartinsMateusTrue, it's better for the environment to keep your older car running as long as possible. Producing and consuming new items isn't green when you account for the energy used to source the materials and manufacture the product.
@@BernardoMartinsMateus Bozo
I would 100% buy this at that price. Don't need frills with a car that size. Just get to work and get back is all
Don't forget to add the cost of travelling to Shanghai and driving all the way back.
This is what I need. Just to drive 6 miles to work and 6 miles back home. I live in the country side where there is no public transport.
You can save even more money by being buried in it when you get killed in a fender bender. Or just allow the batteries to cremate you when they inevitably catch on fire
I would too, except one change if they can. I would prefer a slightly longer 4 - door version
Me too, I just need to drop off kids at school and pick them up, that's it.
Love the pedals with a sign “+ “for acceleration and “- “for brake 😊
I've got that in my ID.3 and it cost 10 times more than the Wuling. I was robbed! LOL.
@@stephendunn3074 doesn't the ID3 have a pause icon? that never really made sense to me.
How about a ? Pedal for ladies
@@benholroyd5221 No, just a stop and play. technically the Wuling's brake icon isn't a stop button.
@@stephendunn3074 hmmm, well I just did an image search for "ID3 pedals" & "ID4 pedals" and both definately show a pause button???
As a Ford Festiva owner for many years, this would be a welcome replacement.
The Fiesta will probably have more safety features. There's a reason why even basic cars from established makers are so much more expensive.
@@bigboldbicycle Still a lot safer than riding a bike (pedal or motor) in traffic.
@@jimdunleavypiano Totaly agreed with that, If you are not save inside a small metal box then you are not save outside of one. Infrastructure is the key to making transportation more save. If people tink that a small car is not save something is really wrong with the traffic planning.
@@MrAntidodo Freight is moved with far more energy-efficency by rail - and more efficiently again by canal. Just think what might happen if human beings designed their environment by first principles, instead of by willy-nilly. Enough dreaming.
@Big Bold Bicycle Festiva, not Fiesta. Different cars. :)
An old wisdom from ancient China, 3 phases of life :
"看山是山, 看山不是山, 看山还是山".
in this case,
Seeing car as a car, seeing car not a car(class/status), back to seeing car as a car.
We invented car to shorten travel time,
then we turned it into a status symbol,
now its time to see it as what it is.
Personal transport solution solved by Wuling
and perhaps people will go back again
to see it as status symbol
有道理
SO true! It's so refreshing to see a basic car, actually simplicity feels like a feature in itself! :)
This car WILL succeed in South Asia if its launched there for an affordable price. Because of its price and practicality, everyone would ride these in cities. And even those families, who already own a car will also end up buying this as well. It will also be useful for many old people who just need to travel from one place to another in a city.
THIS. This is the EV I would buy. Perfect for city traffic, decent range with the bigger battery, simple to park and live with, and no unnecessary spec. Wasn't there talk of some company in Central Europe which was in talks of manufacturing a version of this car for Europe? I imagine that legislation will ruin it, though since bigger cars make this car more dangerous to be in than it actually is. We'd be better off banning SUVs and creating incentives for small, space-efficient alternatives to big cars.
Small cars are only really less safe compared to bigger cars BECAUSE of bigger cars. Except for at speeds no cars are really safe at anyway.
EDIT: Well, I found it. Only available in Lithuania, and twice the price with better range but somehow much less appealing. So, like I thought, they ruined the point of it by making it a lot more expensive with more features aimed to improve "safety".
this is for countryside and grandparents are enough.don't go to freeway.byd car's best cheap and quality.
also shipping 1000 kg of steel across half the world and paying import duties would inevitably raise the price
Ban SUVs.
@@qizhang4077 which BYD do you like? The yuan or the dolphin?
I don't see why the EU requires these cars to be "safer" given here in London I see motorcycles and bikes all over the place. This is way safer than any bike in my opinion. The Eu governments should exempt these from import tax if they really want us to transit to a sustainable economy.
The details are fantastic. The lack of features is refreshing. The side profile is ridiculous. What's not to like?
Lack of any information related to crash safety. That I don't like.
I don't think you'd be driving fast enough to worry about crash safety
@@gregg2000 - A Tesla doing 200 miles an hour will self drive into you. - I wish Tesla had a old-school, no frills version like this. I dont want self-drive and to play computer games on the road. - but Chinese cars are not good, the wheels will probably fall off within a year, Its not green because the manufacturing is not green, and if it is in landfill within 10 years - its REALLY not green.
The quality???
Made in China
A friend of mine in China has one. Perfect for a couple. She says it costs around $1 per 100km to run.
你说错了 要不了1美元 0.5 美元
If you’re doing 100 miles a day, how much does it cost to recharge and for how long?
@@user-jt7rb1wh9o lol, ok..
So is $1.50 per 100km?
@@alanchantiefighterskuanlia627 no,0.5 dollar per 100kilometer，if you charge after 11pm
I really hope these come into the UK for around the 3-4K bracket. I have the base Skoda citgo-e on a very cheap lease until mid next year so this would be a perfect replacment as it would meet my needs perfectly.
Love it, I hope it makes it to the UK soon, would be perfect for a city car hire where I could rent it for a few hours.
As a commuting and shopping car it's perfect, no need for fancy materials, and if you want something fancier you can just pimp it out yourself
I've not seen many Chinese EVs on the road, I really hope that can change soon. Everything's still £20k+ and at this rate by the time people have transitioned it will be too late. We need vehicles like this available now!
Sadly another video I watched on this said there were no plans to export it from china to the uk
ñó çhef nite greey cßhing 2² éktrc rv reirrd ev çsrs too sñal
I like it. It's only 4 miles or so through town (40 mph top speed limit). This car would be an ideal commuter for me.
I think it would be so useful for so many. It's the ideal commuter car to drive 3-5 miles to the railway station etc.
Indeed - it might even save getting speeding tickets as it's so easy to slip past 20 in 20mph zone, 30 in 30 mph zone, etc. .... & avoids the hassle of warming up too.
honestly, for commuting 4 miles, I'd recommend an e-scooter. If it rains and there's a bus, you can fold it up and take it upright between your knees in the bus.
@@Hamachingo I did commute on a bicycle for about 4 years (two of it on an e-bike). That is indeed a good option. Unfortunately, there is no bus service where I live. 😞It's just nice to drive a car when the weather isn't ideal.
It can reach 100kmh
I would buy one tomorrow, to do shopping trips, if you could buy one. It is cheaper than an ebike🤔
I agree.
better than twizy
Scary what a hollow metal box going 100kph can do to the human inside it when it crashes.
Yeah, it's pretty quick for a mobility scooter... because that's what it is lol.
@@glenf4115 This thing doesn't go that fast. It tops out at around 85kph on a flat road.
I'd totally drive this, and it would be perfect 95% of the time for many people. Just imagine how much money you'd save compared to buying a big car/SUV/truck, then just hire something larger with longer range for a weekend or week when you needed it.
I’ve always been tempted by that concept, but I think ultimately what’s put me off is horror stories about hire car damage charges - I’ve had my own car scuffed three times while parked so it doesn’t bear thinking about 😬
I've never had an issue with damage charges on a hire car in the UK or abroad, but if you are worried you can pay a small charge for extra insurance cover.
right on the point！
@Capt Shiny We need to understand their motivations for buying them and appeal to those. For some it's space, for others it's the joy of literally looking down on everyone, for others it's accessibility. All of these can be appealed to. I know someone who didn't particularly like SUVs but with a physical limitation found them the easiest to get in and out of. Others like the perceived cachet of a larger car. Some imagination can win them all over 😉
@Capt Shiny While I can see the sense in buying this, I prefer a large car. Sorry.
The price along with the range (especially with the bigger battery) makes the Wuling Mini EV a much better prospect the a Citroen Ami, which has been severely hampered by the 28mph top speed in order to make it legal for teenagers to drive (from 14 I believe). Having a 62mph top speed makes it viable outwith the urban environment where the Ami just isn't. I'd certainly consider one if they bring them to the UK (and keep the price low)
Brilliant! Unbeatable at that price. Back seats I don't need, rather more luggage space. Even LHD doesn't bother me. And no touchscreen to distract your attention from the road. But it still doesn't solve the congestion problem...
It’ll be perfect for my daily 7 miles commutes!!
Use electric bycicle instead
@@DanielBaikoff please! It's an upgrade from my e-bike if you don't mind! 😂🤣😂🚴♂️🚗
@@DanielBaikoff some very hefty hills on my way to work, and the British weather is not exactly perfect most of the year, lol😄
Certainly more suited than the Citroen Ami if either come to the UK
Treadmill
This should act as a wake up call for ICE car manufacturers..."cheap and does the job"...precisely!
A wake up call? GM is involved. Plus, all of the top manufacturers already make some sort of affordable EV with prices and technology only getting better. What year do you think this is? 2011?
@@markd17 Why did you like your own comment?
@@markd17 that probably describes yourself quite perfectly.
This video was flagged up to me after looking at a review of the new cheap Citroen EV going on sale in France around now. (Think the model name is AMI ? ) By comparison this Chinese offering is far better in every way. - Quality. - Battery power and range. - Top speed. - Style. - Storage space. All for a much lower projected price. Could be less than 4K in UK.?
I’d certainly consider buying this. But wouldn’t dream of buying the toy like Citroen.
The govt should be involved too. So they wants to manufacture the cheaper car.
I would even pay 5k - 6k if this had fast charging for the occasional longer journeys. But I definitely long for a small no frills electric cars to seat at least 4 grown ups. no massive lcd screens, no insane acceleration but it needs to be a pretty or at least quirky looking car.
This car doesnt really drive well above 60 tho, I think they could lift the price a little (as you said) and bring in those features, but I guess that will happen in the near future with its popularity
For under $5,000 it is quirky
@@user-ku6bv4ni2f Yeah, the wheels are too thin for high speed.
Oh my god Please bring this or an equally priced EV to Canada! I would buy it on the spot!
Considering the temperature of winter in Canada, I don't think it would make sense to drive an EV in general.
i live in africa and this ting EV is taking the country by strom. im chinese and all my black friends love it and are buying it.
Good to see an affordable vehicle I strangely like it
I so want this, I would buy one in a heartbeat and put Tesla badges on it and called it Model 0, just for sh*ts and giggles.. lol
😂
lol.
@stoner27th
Push the boundaries mate, splash out on a tube of superglue, some random length fiddlesticks, & flaunt your Plaid Model prowess. 😉
u r funny man😂
I would join your cause
Cracking review, definitely need more of these vehicles. I think if you could accessorize this model it would sell like hot cakes for that price!
Wuling smartly made this car very easy to accessorize, especially targetting gen Z female Chinese customers, who put giant anime decals outside and all sorts of ornaments inside. I saw an article where some girl spent almost $2000 USD customizing her Mini EV, which is crazy since the car only costs 5000!
Please comment on features such as: 1) How comfortable the seats are 2) How much headroom is there (give your height for context 3) The maximum range when driven at top speed vs max range when city driving 4) All-around visibility. Hard stats are more informative than your impressions of what other drivers need in an EV.
120km with 9.2kwh battery is very impressive. Then why I wonder does it's llithium polymer battery not pass the energy density test to qualify for the state subsidies ⁉️🤔 .
I predict some of these will be modified by kids in wonderful and amazing ways.
Absolutely, it'd be a brilliant learner drive, & later if they get the itch to mod the interior it'd be a doddle to spruce it up with a thin semi-rigid foam backing & covered with vinyl, imitation carbon fibre, or fabric. Maybe some custom wood veneer panels to give it some real flair.
The thing with plastic is that if you screw up, it's never going to be a nightmare, as fillers & plastic are readily available in hardware stores.
Even modding the exterior would be fun, the boxy shape of the panels are probably paper-thin so not adding much to the rigidity & easily be disguised by knocking up custom fibreglass panels. 👍
@@CNile-se9xw Couldn't agree more lots of room for creativity and if you took out the back seats you put in some serious speakers...
First i would do is installing a solar panel on top.
The kids have been doing so. Even the manufacturer themselves presented a convertible demo on a car exhibition and said it could be mass produced later
@@eva-238 Cool
A most sensible solution to personal transport - imagine our cities with these in them instead of gas guzzling SUVs.
Imagine when a retard in that gas guzzling SUV or a semi truck hits you at 50-90km/h while you're travelling in this tin can of a car... your family will probably prefer cremation over open casket... if you want safety always buy the biggest car you can afford/drive... sure it would be nice to not waste power and there was more space but I still prefer safety...
i'm so sorry to burst ur bubble but i prefer gas guzzling SUV's then this ugly little death trap car that goes slow as hell
@@D-M-J I'm so sorry to burst ur bubble, but gas-guzzling SUVs will be illegal to produce in the near future. And for 3k euro, you can't even get a 4 seated golf cart in Europe.
@@daweeb69 and when that happens i'll worry about it then for now i love the gas SUV's
@@D-M-J that is not the point tho. The point is that you laugh at a product with taken the price into consideration.
All it needs is a handle on the roof so you can carry it up to your flat 😂
No, you just folded it up like luggage
It’s all that we need most of the time. Where can we buy one, or one like this in the UK?
Exactly the features and price point that I'm interested in. When will any of the U.S. carmakers figure this out???
Yes, this is just the thing I need for my home in Thailand, charged from the solar panels I'm planning to install next time I can get there!
Actually, my 4kWp panels would on a good day charge it twice over and still boil water in the kettle :)
£10,000 in Thailand i guess
@@luup-dx4nq same price here in the Philippines
Wuling Hongguang MINI EV car does not highly rely on charging piles, it can be charged directly with the 220V three-plug power supply of the ordinary household grounding wire. It takes about 6 hours to 9 hours to charge. There is a macaron version that looks more cute
At that price I'd buy one tomorrow. Hope they come to Thailand very soon.
OK, so double the price, double the battery, add a fast charger, and increase max speed to 75mph. That would sell really in the UK. All that play I'd remove the rear seats permanently to get a little extra space, and I reckon it'd do 95% of my driving with only a slight change from my Clio.
So what your really saying is, you want a secondhand leaf.
I'm 1 mile into a 50mph zone. so I am looking at a used leaf. I need at least 20 miles of range.
It wouldn't get through ncap
bigger wheels and better exterior looks too, and it's a winner
I'm considering buying one. Then I look at my old lancer. It's free, because I bought it 5 years ago for $1500. It has a top speed of 210kph. It has a range of 650km. It refuels everywhere in 1 minute. It accelerates well. Can seat 5 while still having the fairly big boot free. It's reliable. Cheap to repair. Trusted brand. Known element. not expensive on fuel. Fun to drive. Is allowed in my country. Looks less stupid. Wow, if it didn't pollute, my car would be a dream compared to that wuling.
Now that’s an EV I could drive on the daily commute. I am utterly sick of over complication on modern cars so this is a breath of fresh air. Puts me in mind of a Panda crossed with a Nissan Cube.
nissañ cúbe gteeàt ektrc ev
Plastic interior is fine. I want one ... now! I'll keep my SLK for weekends, but this is the perfect runabout for everyday local use. It needs to be right hand drive for the UK.
Just the sort car i want. No frills wheele at each corner and gets me from a to b in a radius of 25 miles. Electric 2cv or morris minor.
gm ev 1
This is what we need in this country to kick start green revolution.
Sort of ticks things but at £3.5k you could strip the body off and bang on something more fun. A rolling EV chassis would be a starter for your green Revolution.
It's really perfect for most of the world. Simple is always a better choice.
This car will sell well most everywhere. Any safety concerns can be adequately addressed. It will always be safer than a motorcycle or scooter.
You won't get a speeding ticket in this car.
Saftey concerns is huge while this car is little more than something to die in. Mass always wins and with as little mass as this Pot has it will be like a ping pong ball.
@@LittleolBitty You seem to perhaps be trying to imagine one of these things flying down a highway in Dallas Texas amongst big rigs and oversized pickups. The reality is that this is a far east city car designed to go grab the groceries from the local supermarket not cruise the interstate like Mad Max. Other ICE cars in the class stand the same and will weigh less so being fixated on mass as a downside is pointless when the job is done already. Everyone loves the effort you put in though. Keep it up.
I think that one is just perfect. That's all I need: A car that has a range of at least 100km and is not expensive. Because that's what cars are all for: driving. I don't need thousands of extra features.
Thanks for the video.
For 4-5k just a little run about to use to go to town or as a backup ,I would get one for fun . Cheeper than a motorcycle and it's rain proof. I'm in USA.
100% will buy it in a heartbeat, maybe even a great present for teenage that just got license.
its a back to basics. how cars should be. for a purpose. not all this "emotion" rubbish. the uk really needs to create a class of small cars like they have in japan. too many monster suvs these days.
Create, in the UK, is there not a potential, health n safety issue, political correctness issue, political or being in not quite the right clique issue with that idea of creating, careful now you will need a hi-viz vest you might be on to something lol
Bravo! Inexpensive, simple, basic transportation is a very good offering. We need a lot more of this.
Thanks!
Perfect for seniors as well. Going to the grocery store, doctor's appointments or picking up a prescription. Short trips, this is perfect. That is why we will never see it. Other companies will lobby the government to keep it out so they can sell us their over priced heaps.
I would have this as a second car ... yes, I know seconds cars are bad but I'm running an ICE second car at the moment and our nearest supermarket is a 50miles round trip, which this would do just fine. Sell it for £6000 in the UK and they wouldn't be able to keep up with demand.
ITS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT gave away my S Class 5.0L V8 Mercedes cos I just don't use it. Get the bus into the city centre, just need something for the odd trip to nearby towns...
how is a second car bad? if you need to move and you're not the only one, you need another vehicle
@@yosyp5905 For such endeavours car renting was invented. Also its not true at all that you need more than one vehice to move. With furniture you will need a van anyway and three people can sit in the front.
well im keeping my 2 litre diesel classic going as long as I can and im looking for a little electric run abaout like this as a second car for town use . speed range and price are all important.
Why should we pay £6000 when this guy says it is £3400- Then I would buy one!
I have 5km to work, when it's not raining or snowing it's a
this is a very green car, first in saving the earth. everyone on the planet should buy and drive this car.
If they make a right hand drive version available in Ireland I'll buy one. It's perfect for me.
I agree, Steve, but these cheap EV's will never make it to Ireland...the big car manufacturers just wouldn't allow them in. I've just recently found out that even the Dacia Spring is not coming here. It's a real shame, I'm desperate to get an ev, but I don't want all the ridiculous and unnecessary tech, and there's no way I can afford what's out there at the minute. This would be perfect for me, and I'm sure would sell really well.
@@adarbs6384 I don't think it would sell well here anyway because people seem to have a boner for crossovers lately. Not many people want a small vehicle like this. But even if they made it right hand drive for Japan or any other country that drives on the left I would try to import it
@@Steve30x lol, you're dead right...I live out west and every other car is SUV...most of them don't actually need them
@@adarbs6384 Theyre not even SUV's. The things they drive are front wheel drive that aren't sporty or utilitarian but journalists started calling crossovers , SUV's so now people call them SUV's. They're stupid things. Some say but we need more space. I've been in a few of those things. They are no bigger than any smallish hatchback inside. If they wanted more space these things called estate cars exist.
I would be more than happy to buy one of these micro electric cars though. All I need is a roof over my head with doors when its raining and windy and something to get me and my little dog around with the ability to do my weekly shopping. I live alone with my dog so these micro electric cars are perfect for people like me
@@Steve30x I'm exactly the same as you. And I know the boot space is limited, but like you, 9 times out of 10 it's just me and the dog so I'd just keep the back seats folded down. I personally think they are terrific, and I'd buy one in a heartbeat
Dude I love everything about this. I hope more of the car industry goes this direction as we electrify the world.
That’s absolutely right!!! 👍👏
I like the "+" and "-" signs on the pedals :-D
nice. 1st time here visiting your channel. good basic info, simple - cheap - definitely for the urban areas. thanks for sharing!
8.1 kWh / 100 km is exactly DOUBLE the efficiency of a Tesla Model 3. 😊GREAT JOB WULING
Aircon for that price is amazing and the range is great. Some manufacturers will charge you that much for the Aircon.
When can we get one in the UK?
It will be ventilation. It takes energy to heat or cool. Range would suffer.
@@beachcomber2008 from what was said in the review and what I can see on the web, including wikipedia, it is air conditioning. Only in the top spec obviously and it also has electric windows and a stereo.
I agree range will suffer but again the review calls this out and said it didn't make a big difference.
@@NRajah I bow to you, sir. I'm not against the craft in principle, having done thousands of miles in a tiny-engined 2CV. In fact I wish it well, and hope that it competes well with Teslas - enough to make Elon wince a bit.
@@beachcomber2008 respect for you and your 2CV. While this mini EV will do good business in China I doubt anything like it will make it to Europe so we will be stuck with a choice between vaying expensive large EV's and Elon won't even notice. :-(
It's a real shame as a car in this price bracket would get students and local commuters into EVs and the polution levels in major towns and cities would finally clear.
@@NRajah Yes. That was my point. But the small car is the hardest to do (the Mini was sold at a loss for a decade), and could break the firmest human resolve possible, including Elon's. This seems a good start down that road. ( I'd prefer the Starship to fulfil its objective. ) This car needs a stripped-down Tesla control system in place of its present electronics. That would be something.
I love the updates from China but they all come with the health warning - you can't buy one in the UK. This report leads with the headline price in pounds which is doubly-frustrating. So I challenge @Fully Charged Show to bring one of these over to the UK get it legally on the road and give us the full breakdown of how much it cost to buy, ship, tax and insure. When you've done all that, I'll buy it off you - for £3,400 of course.
good idea for an episode. Fully Charged should definitely consider it...
Some Chinese cars are coming to the west. MG is already there. BYD and XPeng are coming. I believe Seeker is not far away
I want one left hand drive for that price, please
I have a 2014 smart fortwo EV. No battery degradation yet. Drive it almost every. 32000 miles. My favorite car I own.
It didn't cost $5,000
£20k when they came out I think.
I paid
$6000 with only 7K miles. Used of course. Resale value is terrible.
Now has 40000 miles. Put new tires on it. All that raging unbridled power wore the originals out.
That’s what I wish we could buy and use here. No bangs an whistles. Just a simple get you to work, store, doctor car
NYC here this car is a dream. It would need to go faster because it's too slow for highways between boro's or driving to LI or NJ when there isn't traffic. If it capped out at 75 or 80, then driving 65 regularly shouldn't be a problem.
Very nice, uncomplicated video for a nice, uncomplicated car. This is exactly the kind of car (even if not an EV) that urban mobility needs…..small, easy to get around in and park, just enough space for short city trips (even with 4), or the quick grocery run. I love its practicality and simplicity. Being an EV is icing on the cake, and its got a very respectable range, efficiency and driving speed. Love that it’s “old school with electric”…..key, handbrake, actual buttons…. Looks cheerful too ! Would buy this in a heartbeat if it were available here !
I always said that I wanted a 1989 Toyota corolla but with an electric drivetrain. This thing is almost there!
Crazy thing is that the 89 Corolla started at $9000 USD, which after inflation is over $19,000, but this thing costs $5000 in 2021 money! And the Wuling comes with AC, power windows, airbags, and even parking sensors, none of which would be on that old Corolla. The mini EV is absurdly cheap.
by çórola hybred
Great report. Wow; I am laughing my head off at yesterday's $5,000 foldable carbon bicycle. These things should be replacing scooter-sharing startups in a hurry, although a self-driving feature that returned them to the garage on their own every night would be an important addition I think. I wonder what Elon has in store for this competition?
I don't think Tesla would want to compete with this for reasons of market branding. I always felt that Tesla goal would be autonomous cars, and if they come into being, the main market would probably be companies than consumers. but we will see, no company ever complain there being too much profit... we never know.
Now you know why Elon is going to mars!
@@outthere9370 Funny :)
@@lagrangewei It's true that we would see these things littered all over the place - like discarded scooters - in any ride-sharing service that used them, but does autonomous capability multiply the cost of a car times-10? All steering and braking components are built today to fit self-driving vehicles (I think), so there shouldn't be a great difference.
@@lagrangeweiadvance autonomous needs 5g, the Chinese are 2years ahead of the world in 5g. in terms of tech 2year is at least 2fold.
Henry Ford a little more than a hundred years ago had a similar approach with his first mass produced Model T's. Build an affordable vehicle. The Fords were for the most part quite reliable given the various crudities to be expected in a pioneer effort. The big question I would with these min-EV's is how reliable they are given their very low initial price. If they in fact hold up fairly well and don't rack up bills in the repair shops I think this car or other similar to it have the potential to revolutionize the auto industry.
I have a small companymy. My employees and I drive around the city a lot during the day. I would love to change all my company cars which were all produced from 1996 to 1999 ( I chose them because they use almost no fuel the biggest engine in my fleet is 1.0l) to this little cute thing. It would be such an upgrade! Air con, electric windows, no parking fee (where I live elecric cars don't pay for parking), parking sensors and zero paperwork connected to buying fuel. Just one bill for electricity. I hope it will get to europe or european manufacturers will release similar models in similar prices.
I think this would be great as a local run around car - but we are so heavily regulated and saddled with overdone safety measures that I doubt it would be capable of meeting regulations in the UK. (PS Of course long range 'motorway' cars should have lots of safety measures and high crash resistance, but could we not have more pragmatic rules for slow city cars?)
This would be great for 90% of my driving. My Volt would get the rest of the job done until I could afford a longer-range EV. The fact the most Americans drive around ALONE, in gigantic trucks and SUVs is sickening.
I'll gladly buy one in the UK it when they've added all the EU safety features!! Even if the price is doubled, it would still be great value!
Ah but surely one of the 'benefits' of brexit, is that we don't need EU rules. surely we should be swamped in cheap Evs.
@@benholroyd5221 . You do know that NCAP was started by the U.K where EU nations adopted the Transport Research Laboratory who fought long and hard to improve safety. Delays ensued as France and Italy tried to block NCAP but other EU nations joined us.
@@bordersw1239 I didn't know that.
So does that mean the EU is good, because it created a larger market for cars meeting our safety standards.
Or is it bad, because we could have raised them higher, thus creating a small market of extremely safe, but extremely expensive cars.
@@benholroyd5221 . Well it was certainly a help to saving lives but I think we should all be looking at a global safety standard. Is it acceptable that EU manufacturers allow their cars to be built and driven in 2nd/3rd world countries with lower safety features?
@@bordersw1239 you could equally take the view that it would be unfair to price the world's poorest out of cars by insisting on safety features that add expense.
I'd like to see a classification in-between quadricycle and car, for things like this that can only do 60.
This would be the perfect EV in San Francisco! Easy to park, super affordable, and perfect city range.
this car will save the planet. everyone should buy and drive this car.
If this was available in France I would buy it tomorrow !!! Fantastic no-frills EV for bobbing about is exactly what I need.
It is called the Twizy.
But you have the citroen ami which has way less features (no electric windows, no air con and less range) for almost double the price!
@@ronloc3309 - Let's keep it realistic. Put this "car" in Europe and the price will more than triple!! Suddenly wouldn't feel so appealing!
Meanwhile let's just say the Citroen AMI is about half the price, or slightly less than an Aixam... one of it's direct competitors!
once you factor in shipping it will be double the cost.
Will fit nicely in my back garden,jokes a side! For my 3 miles commute,will for sure buy if available in UK
it’s only available in China.
@@markd17 will be replacing my 320d next year,cannot wait 😄
3 miles commute and you need a car for that 😂😂😂
@@TANOCA17 after 12h driving a lorry I’m in no mood to cycle back home,night shift is a killer
@@LittleJoshVarela oh that must be exhausting. But 12 hr in sitting position makes cycling a necessity. They say sitting that long is equally harmful as smoking 3 packages of cigarettes. You might recover some part of the damage by cycling home
The perfect last mile car for commuters. Not to mention for quick trips in the city
If this was in 🇺🇸 I’d gladly buy one as a backup or around town car, I’m a simple man, I don’t need anything complex, if it’s got plastic I’m fine with that
You can get like 8 of these for the base model 3. Or 26 of these for the plaid S.
No wonder it's out-sold the T-3 6:1!
@@rngalston 😆🤣
Looks cheeky. I think it'd do really well in the UK.
We need more cars like this! Back to basics. Most new cars are far too complicated, expensive, and with things we can easily live without. Where can I buy one of these that is ready for UK the roads?
Looks well built and the styling and interior design is spot on. Like the orange accent.
I'd have one as a daily commuter, shopping and general round town. Hopefully they might make them in RHD too.
The real issue with any car is your respective countries Government tax and safety laws (ncap, ancap, DOT etc) and sales tax etc. These are enough to kill off importing many small efficient cars.
'Politics is the art of looking for a problem where none exists, and applying the wrong remedy' quote from the late Sir Robert Muldoon, NZ Prime Minister. I'm sure this is universally true.
A very appealing car that most car company failed to produce... Essential functions and that's it...
Buy one to put in the boot of a Tesla instead of a spare tire… As the former owner of a Sinclair C5 - I would love one of these for my daily commute of 6 miles…
_"former owner of a Sinclair C5"_ - You have my sympathies. :)
Time for a WULING'S MINI EV racing formula.
Man, I want one of these. Its a shame this, or anything even remotely close to it, doesn't exist in the US.
In any multi-vehicle accident this car would not be the one you would walk away from. I am sure it’s small enough it could double as a coffin.
@@glenf4115 that might be the case with most vehicles,it's safer than a motorbike or a bicycle,vehicles are just dangerous but it's never stopped people driving
@@MannyJazzcats Just because youre in a coffin with wheels doesnt make it safer. A motorbike is easier to manouver and in this little shitbox you would get stuck and smashed into pieces even at lower speeds. Motorbikes is not good when it comes to safty - thats right. But that is something motorbike drivers has to improve. Just because motorbikes are more unsafe it doesnt mean cars should become death traps as well.
Yeah neither in Europe, would be perfect for my (very densily populated) part of Holland.
Maybe the Model 2 will be cheap, but probably not :(
Did you look underneath that car? It's got a cart axle at the back with the elec motor mounted on the diff. It's also got 12" wheels.
There are much better engineered cars available for the same price. One is the Lumin - proper front wheel drive setup with 14" wheels.
Having had a Zoe and now a Kia Soul ev, this might be just right for a retired old man like me! Simple and small and I have a drive and a wall charger in place. If only.
i hope they eventually bring this car to the uk, Its pretty much perfect for city driving/commuting. Would make a great replacement to a normal car
I bet it's gonna cost more (if it ever comes that is), im guessing somewhere between 8k to 10k because we're not allowed to have anything nice for less than that
I'm going to speculate that it doesn't have crumple zones or a safety cell.
It's called your legs.
@Capt Shiny Didn’t the spec say 60mph? 60mph into a tree in a yoghurt pot with wheels will hurt…
If they can sell them here for £5-6k they'll sell loads. Just the job for UK cities.
Ide buy 1 if on sale in the UK. Looks better for energy cost and parking. There should be more affordable cars like this it would get me to buy 1.
With the sun and the wind I will travel forever. . . since I consume electricity to travel, why not recover some of it using a mini or micro wind generator, with vertical axis, placed externally somewhere in the car and a system of solar panels? These systems will deliver energy. . forever. (I mean: an object that moves, like a car, in front of it will create a vortex, the wind. Which, when it hits the wind turbine, will generate electricity that will recharge the batteries.) Hoping that the idea you like it (apart from the various technical problems) I would be happy for you, Omega, to advertise the idea. .. and lots of compliments for your program.)
I'll have one with windy up windows and no A/C please. That will bring it down to about 3 grand. Sorted.
I also like myself drowsy and hot behind the wheel of a tiny car.
For $2,000 you can get the car without wheels
@@jochem1986 - Drowsy and hot? Aww, poor sweet baby. 😁 C'mon, now - you can do it: open a window, using the handle provided. It goes round and round and round...
If it's a bit chilly, wear some clothes. Cold hands? Get some 1950s driving gloves.
And if you're too hot behind the wheel, do what I do: get naked. 😲
@@jochem1986 Get more sleep on a night, stay adequately hydrated and dont rely on stimulants to live. If you think the car's too small for you, get a bigger one. Problem solved
@@tennisbum3686 Range will suffer. Not worth the saving. 😁
Shame that by the time/if it arrives in the uk it will not cost 4K but more like 12K taking away its affordability to the masses!
I imagine it would concertina nicely in a Euro NCAP test.
probably just like a pre 90s car, or a motorbike, or a bicycle, or a pedestrian
Crashing a lithium powered bread box into a barrier at 50kph…
I would love this for daily driving around the city taking kids from school and to their other activities. What I would change is the access to the back seats and a slightly bigger boot for when I get the kids from school and go straight to the supermarket for some groceries. Suppose I could use the passenger 10:53 front seat too, but the boot would be better. And at times I'd like to be able to hook up the phone for Waze (at least a USB socket would be great and a place to set a phone stand). Other than that, it's great for the price.
If this car will be sold in Europe, I'm sure everyone should love it! Honestly hope this car will be sold in Europe soon!
3:53 170 km range, not miles. So 106 miles range for the "bigger" battery
But probably more like 80miles
@@tonystanley5337 Yeah and in colder climates, you would be lucky to do 75 :)
NEDC is wildly optimistic, that's why for example EU has moved on to WLTP, which is A LOT more realistic.
You can actually do the mileage that WLTP states, while the only way to do what NEDC says is to put it on a flatbed truck.
@@tonystanley5337 Actually the NEDC range here is very close to what you get on city driving, the biggest discrepancies come from higher speed which this car isn't even capable of.
and when most people drive less than 10 miles a day, it would last a week between charges..!
@@delboy7039 Then the question becomes...How many people in these regions have a driveway that they can park in and charge the car with their "slow charger"
If they are living in flats and have to "trickle charge" their cars for many hours at a public charger, it might become a big problem.
Mini cars are great as a second car for shopping and similar short trips.
One can rent a car for long distance trips and this car for everyday short commutes like shopping
Yes, that is true or travel by train or bus. I meant those who already owned a gas car. The long term goal is to replace that gas car with a long range EV like a Tesla, but in the mean time buy a micro car ev to save up money for the real car. If you live in a city and don't drive much a micro car might be all you need, but if you live way from the city a long range EV is needed.
Electric window, luxury 😂
There was a time in the west when that was the must have on my next car. What a super car for the money. I was looking at an E-bicycle that was more expensive than that👍
Short answer...YES, I'd buy one right now...this car meets all of my transportation needs..
Wow, it's very suitable for shopping and commuting in rainy days. It's very good. You can use another car at home for a long journey