Small-sized EVs gaining in popularity in China

Small-sized vehicles are gaining momentum in China's growing new energy vehicle market, and their market share are expected to grow further as the authorities are gradually phasing out financial stimuli that has been in place since 2009.

Statistics show that SAIC-GM-Wuling's Hongguang MINI EV had been the sales champion in the electric car segment for three months in a row, with sales in November totaling 33,094, setting a record for the industry.

Wang Zhenpo, secretary-general of the National Big Data Alliance of New Energy Vehicles, called the 2,917-mm four-seater, which has beaten the better-known Tesla and BYD vehicles in sales, a phenomenon.

Small-sized electric vehicles account for a 40 percent market of China's overall new energy vehicle segment, which is expected to total 1.3 million this year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Shao Jie, an executive in charge of electrification at SAIC-GM-Wuling, said the vehicles are affordable and easy to use, which are top reasons of their popularity.

Currently, vehicles from SAIC-GM-Wuling account for 51 percent of small-sized electric vehicles, while 43 percent of them are the carmaker's Hongguang MINI EVs.

In the first 11 months of the year, SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 132,000 small-sized electric vehicles, and sales growth month-over-month were registered in nine months.

Analysts said such vehicles has vast market potential, especially when the government stops the financial stimuli after the end of 2022.