Whilst many electric car supporters are celebrating the news that the UK overtook all EU countries to become the biggest buyer of EVs in Europe, many motorists are still waiting for prices to come down before they make the change from their petrol or diesel model.
As a result, many Brits are turning to Chinese car companies, who are able to take advantage of cheaper labour costs to give their models more attractive prices.
However, some of the cheapest Chinese electric models are not yet available on the UK market, with one of the most affordable being the new Wuling Hongguang Mini EV.
Now in its second generation, this tiny city car offers styling very similar to the Smart ForTwo but is able to seat twice the amount of passengers and is priced at a very competitive 35,800CNY (£3,899).
As a result, the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV costs a more than £10,000 less than the Dacia Spring (currently the UK’s cheapest full-size electric car), and is still around half the price of the two-seater Citroen Ami.
Compared to the first-generation model, which quickly overtook the Tesla Model Y to become China’s best-selling electric car, the new Wuling Hongguang Mini EV has a much cuter appearance that is said to have been inspired by a range of Japanese models.
The front end is particularly minimalist, featuring a set of bug-eye-like headlight clusters, an indented grille, and a small charging port where the grille would be on a traditional car.
All models also come with a particularly small set of wheels, but can be ordered with either three or five doors and in a wide range of bright pastel colours, with the company using a seven-coat process to prevent rust.
Despite being just 3.26 metres long, smaller than the Kia Picanto and Fiat 500, the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV is surprisingly practical inside, being able to house four occupants and plenty of luggage inside the 123-litre boot. A further 19 storage pockets and compartments are located throughout the vehicle, in addition to other luxuries including an eight-inch touchscreen, reversing camera, and smartphone-controlled door locks and air conditioning.
Unlike the first-generation example, the latest Mini EV also features a number of safety features expected from western buyers, including airbags for the driver and front passenger.
Unlike the majority of ultra-affordable Chinese electric cars, the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV is not limited to speeds of around 30mph. That said, it is hardly a speed demon, with the 30kW electric motor allowing it to reach 62mph.
The new battery, which is unique to the model, also offers a fairly practical range of 127 miles – slightly less than rivals like the Dacia Spring, Citroen e-C3, and Peugeot e-208.
Unfortunately, there are no current plans to bring the Wuling Honguang Mini EV to the UK, however a Lithuanian-assembled version called the Freze Nikrob is being sold in some EU countries, priced at €13,000 (£10,780).
