China | Low-cost mini-cars are revolutionizing electrics

(Liuzhou) Flashy colors and Mickey stickers: in China, mini-cars that can be personalized like fashion accessories are revolutionizing electric vehicles without breaking the bank in remote corners of the country.

China is the world's largest market for electric cars.

And the Asian giant, the world's main emitter of greenhouse gases in absolute value, is targeting automobile sales in 2035 mainly made up of electric or hybrid vehicles.

Electricity is already commonplace in large cities and wealthy neighborhoods, where high-end models from Tesla and its Chinese competitor BYD are legion.

But in a growing number of less developed regions, it is the Hongguang Mini from the local brand Wuling which is preferred.

This small two-door electric car has already sold more than 1.2 million copies. Sold at low prices, starting at around 30,000 yuan ($5,600), it is a hit in small towns.

“This car is small and practical, easy to park and recharge. That’s why I chose it,” smiles M^me Cao while putting his shopping in the trunk of his Hongguang Mini, whose design is reminiscent of a Smart.

The Hongguang Mini is ideal “for picking up the children (at school), doing shopping and going to work,” assures this 47-year-old driver who did not wish to give her full name, met in Liuzhou.

This southern Chinese city, with a population of around 4 million, is famous for its misty mountains and snail rice noodles.

Candy pink

This is where the Wuling brand Hongguang Mini (pronounced “Rongue-gouangue”) is manufactured.

To support the transition to electric, local authorities have increased the number of charging stations and offer assistance and parking spaces at reduced prices.

Tang Wenhui and his family paid around 60,000 yuan (more than $11,200) to buy a Hongguang Mini, the equivalent of a year's salary.

This driver assures that the choice of an electric model was not at all dictated by ecological considerations.

“I just wanted something to get around town,” says the 23-year-old programmer.

The smallest Hongguang Mini measures around 3 meters long and 1.5 meters wide and can accommodate up to four people.

A lithium-ion battery gives it a range of 215 kilometers, according to its manufacturer.

These are the oldest models which are sold at around 30,000 yuan, eight times cheaper than a Model 3, Tesla's flagship product.

Wuling is not the only brand offering mini electric cars. Local manufacturers Dongfeng Motor, Chery and Geely have also invested in this niche.

But its cars are distinguished by their candy pink and lemon yellow bodywork designs, as well as limited editions named after French pastries or Japanese game consoles.

” Fashion accessory ”

They have given rise to a community of fans, the “Wuling girls”, and brand addicts are willing to pay a little more to personalize their car with brightly colored polka dots or cartoon characters.

That of M^me Cao, ruby ​​red, is decorated with Mickey Mouse heads on the body and its steering wheel is covered with hearts.

“It’s cute,” smiles its owner when we meet it at a charging station.

The strength of the Hongguang Mini is that “in small towns (they) tend to be considered more as a fashion accessory than as vehicles,” notes analyst Tu Le, from the specialist firm Sino Auto Insights, based in Beijing.

This is why their owners generally buy “accessories to decorate them and make them unique,” ​​emphasizes Tu Le.

China, which is seeking to reduce its polluting emissions and its dependence on foreign oil, is putting the turbo on electricity. Dozens of local brands have emerged there in recent years in a fast-growing niche.

A sign of the dynamism of Chinese manufacturers, BYD snatched the title of largest global seller of electric vehicles from the American Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023.