This $4,500 electric car is reportedly outselling Tesla's Model 3 in China by almost two to one
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Grace Dean
Feb 25, 2021, 19:21 IST
SAIC Motor reportedly sold almost 26,000 Hong Guang Minis in January.Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Sales of SAIC Motor's budget EV were almost double that of Tesla's Model 3 in China in January, the BBC reported.
The four-seat Hong Guang Mini has top speeds of 62 mph and costs less than $4,500.
China, the world's largest car market, is seen as crucial to Tesla's future.
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State-owned Chinese automaker SAIC Motor is reportedly massively outselling Tesla in the country with its electric vehicles that sell for just 28,800 yuan ($4,465).
SAIC Motor sold 25,778 Hong Guang Minis in China in January, compared to 13,843 sales of Tesla's Model 3, the BBC reported, citing data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
The four-seat Hong Guang Mini, which has top speeds of 62 mph and an estimated cruising range of 120 miles, is being made as a joint venture between SAIC Motor, Liuzhou Wuling Motors, and General Motors.
Its sales could make it the second-best-selling electric car in the world after Tesla's Model 3, the BBC reported.
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The cheapest version of Tesla's Model 3 in China costs more than eight times than the Hong Guang Mini's entry-level model.
Tesla started deliveries of its Shanghai-made Model Ys in January after reducing the pre-order price by 30%.
The Hong Guang Mini isn't Tesla's only rival in China.
As demand for electric vehicles has grown in the country, thanks in part to generous government subsidies, Chinese start-ups Nio, Li Auto, and Xpeng all announced surging sales in 2020.
Nio and Xpeng have both said their sales doubled in 2020 compared with 2019, and Li Auto sold 32,624 cars in 2020, its first full year of trading.
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