One of the big gripes with electric cars in the U.S. and Europe is that manufacturers are bringing them full of tech that brings the cost up. True.
But elsewhere there are models of EVs that don't have all the bells and whistles and won't make you poor.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...the-masses
the 37-year-old bought a 66,900-yuan ($10,000) crossover from local electric-vehicle maker Hozon Auto. It’s one of a growing number of vehicles that run on batteries and electric motors gaining popularity in lower-income parts of the country because of their modest prices and lower running costs.
...
In China, Hozon Auto’s Neta N01 is one of a slew of low-cost EVs, including the $8,950 e1 minicar from Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. There’s also the SAIC Motor Corp.-General Motors Co. joint venture’s Hongguang Mini, which entered the market last year at a base price of just $4,230 and quickly became a hit. In the first half of 2020 the average retail price of an EV, excluding incentives, was $55,233 in the U.S., compared with $29,895 in China, according to automotive research firm Jato Dynamics.
Automakers are able to churn out the mainland’s budget EVs by keeping frills to a minimum in the interior and under the hood. The cars are often only capable of traveling at low speeds. And Changqing’s electric crossover gets about 187 miles per charge—about half the distance of a Tesla Model 3 Long Range.
...
A recent study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, mapping more than 1,000 cars available in the U.S. on the basis of their total lifetime costs (which include upfront, maintenance, and fueling expenses), shows that Nissan Motor Co.’s electric Leaf—starting at less than $25,000 for a 2021 model after tax subsidies in the U.S.—is one of the cheapest cars available today.
And don't forget the second hand market where prices are always quite a bit friendlier.
But elsewhere there are models of EVs that don't have all the bells and whistles and won't make you poor.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...the-masses
the 37-year-old bought a 66,900-yuan ($10,000) crossover from local electric-vehicle maker Hozon Auto. It’s one of a growing number of vehicles that run on batteries and electric motors gaining popularity in lower-income parts of the country because of their modest prices and lower running costs.
...
In China, Hozon Auto’s Neta N01 is one of a slew of low-cost EVs, including the $8,950 e1 minicar from Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. There’s also the SAIC Motor Corp.-General Motors Co. joint venture’s Hongguang Mini, which entered the market last year at a base price of just $4,230 and quickly became a hit. In the first half of 2020 the average retail price of an EV, excluding incentives, was $55,233 in the U.S., compared with $29,895 in China, according to automotive research firm Jato Dynamics.
Automakers are able to churn out the mainland’s budget EVs by keeping frills to a minimum in the interior and under the hood. The cars are often only capable of traveling at low speeds. And Changqing’s electric crossover gets about 187 miles per charge—about half the distance of a Tesla Model 3 Long Range.
...
A recent study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, mapping more than 1,000 cars available in the U.S. on the basis of their total lifetime costs (which include upfront, maintenance, and fueling expenses), shows that Nissan Motor Co.’s electric Leaf—starting at less than $25,000 for a 2021 model after tax subsidies in the U.S.—is one of the cheapest cars available today.
And don't forget the second hand market where prices are always quite a bit friendlier.
