Mention the term ‘electric car’, and the name ‘Tesla’ immediately pops into people’s minds. That is how synonymous Tesla has become with EVs. It’s like what ‘Xerox’ was to ‘photocopy’.
But have you heard of Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV?
Chances are that the name doesn’t ring a bell. But it is the best-selling EV in China today. Introduced in June 2020 by a joint venture between SAIC, GM and Liuzhou Wuling Motors, the MINI EV has cumulatively sold more than 700,000 units till September 2022.
The secret of its success? It’s price. You can buy it for under $5,000. Sure, it’s no comparison to any of the Tesla models, and it’s a small car by any standards. But it’s a 4-seater, with a 120-170 km range and a top speed of 100 kmph. And it’s cruising at 35,000+ sales a month. In fact, it is the No. 2 bestselling EV globally in 2022, overtaking Tesla Model 3. The No.1 position is taken by Tesla Model Y.
By comparison, Tesla Model 3 has a starting price of $36,000 in China. The average EV sold in the US costs about $76,000 according to data from Edmunds.com.
Tesla accounts for just under two-thirds of the EVs sold in America.
But which is the best-selling non-Tesla EV in the US? It’s General Motors’ Bolt EV. It even outsells the Tesla flagships, the Model S and Model X. The reason again is simple – Bolt is America’s cheapest electric vehicle. Last summer, GM dropped the price of the Bolt EV by 27% to just under $27,000. The 2023 Bolt EV now has a starting price of $25,600. Sales have taken off like a Corvette Z06 in Launch Mode. The Bolt EV and its sibling, the Bolt EUV, have had record sales in the third quarter of 2022 with 14,000 deliveries. GM now plans to increase production from 44,000 Bolts this year to 70,000 next year.
There is clearly enormous potential for an affordable, respectable and practical electric car, which can address the needs of the middle-class customer. Even Tesla has announced a low-cost hatchback model, priced at around $25,000, possibly to be released sometime in 2023.
Closer home, Tata Motors opened bookings for the Tiago EV on September 29 with an ex-showroom starting price of just Rs. 8.5 lakhs. The response was electrifying – the bookings surged past the 10,000 mark in a single day!
In today’s world full of premium and ultra-luxury electric vehicles, the average car buyer with a daily commute to work and back home feels left out in the lurch. The likes of MINI EV, Bolt EV and Tiago EV are changing that and creating a whole new trajectory of EV sales. Affordable electric cars will hasten the process of EVs becoming mainstream. Hopefully, very soon.
