We have already covered the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV multiple times, especially reporting how well it sells in China. We also already mentioned it would be sold in Europe as the FreZe Nikrob EV. Its convertible version will become the FreZe Froggy. Yet, we have never shown you how it is manufactured. The Gweilo 60 YouTube channel did us that favor in the video above.
The presenter managed to visit the Liuzhou factory and was able to film how the compact and affordable EV is produced. According to the video, a Hongguang Mini EV takes only four hours to be manufactured from start to finish, and one car leaves the assembly line every minute. It is a pity he did not disclose how many are produced per year.
Another thing that fascinated the presenter were the little autonomous Baojun E100 vehicles that help carry components around the factory. He and other visitors made tests to see if the tiny EVs would stop if anybody crossed their way, and they obviously did so.
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The video also shows the structure of the Hongguang Mini EV. We thought the battery pack was flat and placed underneath the car’s floor, but that is not the case. The bulky component lies underneath the front seats, and it has an eight-year warranty or 120,000 km. It would be possible to spend only C$1 to drive 100 km.
When it comes to driving, the presenter did not really get a chance to evaluate it on traffic, just on a closed test track. Despite that, he seemed satisfied with how the Mini EV behaves and how it accelerates. His final verdict was that the car was sold for a fair price, equivalent to C$5,000. If it really costs €9,999 in Europe, many customers would probably still consider it a bargain.
Source: Gweilo 60