A micro electric vehicle (EV) by General Motors’ local Chinese joint venture has become the most sold EV model in China, with 15,000 cars sold in China in August, followed by Tesla Inc’s 11,800 sales of Model 3 sedans, industry data showed.
The model, the Hongguang MINI EV, is a two-door micro electric vehicle released by the joint venture between GM and Chinese automaker SAIC Motor and another partner, SGMW, in July.
The starting cost for the Hongguang MINI EV is 28,800 yuan ($4,200), less than 10% of the 291,800 yuan ($42,667) starting price for Tesla’s China-made Model 3 vehicles before they get government subsidies.
GM’s new China boss Julian Blissett informed Reuters in August that it would renew its focus on luxury Cadillacs, present bigger but greener sports-utility vehicles (SUVs), and target entry-level buyers with low-cost micro electric vehicles.
Tesla has sold 11,000 Shanghai-made Model 3 vehicles in the country in July, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). CPCA uses a different counting method than what Tesla does for counting their official deliveries.
