Unlike the European market where cheap, basic electric cars continue to be about as common as rocking horse poo, they’re positively spoiled with them over in China. In fact, there are now so many different new EVs on sale in China for less than the equivalent of £10,000 that it’s actually becoming quite tricky to stand out in that segment. Which is a lovely problem to have.
Here at Fully Charged, one of our absolute favourite tiny Chinese electric city cars is the smallest of them all, the Wuling MiniEV. This is partly because it takes the mantra of “cheap and cheerful” to entirely new levels of frugality, costing a mere £3,700, and partly because it looks like something a seven year-old designed on Minecraft. And with our video on it sailing past half a million views, it seems that you lot liked it too.
But, being the selfish chap that I am, the cheap Chinese EVs I care about most are the ones that actually stand a real chance of finding their way over to the European market in the future. And, alas, this is not on the cards for the tiny Wuling, largely because it would likely fail every facet of the European crash test quite spectacularly. Personally, for £3,700 I’d be more than happy to run the risks of driving a car in which the frontal crumple zone is your knees, but it’s not going to happen. Bloody police state.
Happily, another new electric supermini has burst forth, looking an awful lot more palatable to the European market: the new Leapmotors T03. Compared to the Wuling it’s positively colossal, and really quite luxurious. Compared to absolutely anything else with four wheels, it is a small, simple and really rather charming EV – and yours for as little as £8,000. Over to our man on the ground in China, Elliot, for the full lowdown on this cute little grocery getter. Watch Elliot’s episode on youtube now.
About the author
Jack is a London-based presenter, writer, and expert in all things automotive. A lifelong car fanatic and recovering petrolhead, Jack is a fully converted EV evangelist these days and, prior to joining Fully Charged, spent two years launching and fronting a new EV media brand called Electroheads.
