SAIC, GM, & Wuling JV Launched The Wuling Bingo In China, & It’s Priced At Just $8,682!

The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV made mini EVs very fashionable in China, especially in the second and third tier cities and so on. The SAIC, GM, and Wuling joint venture really came up with some market-creating innovation as multiple OEMs followed up with similar mini EVs in this vehicle segment. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV is a 3-door mini EV that is really for 2 adults in the front and maybe you squeeze in one or two more adults in the back. It’s a really cool car though, despite it being very small, but it’s not as small as you would think as you will see once you get a chance to get inside one. It’s actually a good deal for the price, which was less than $4,500 in China when it was launched.

After such a blockbuster, the joint venture is back with another cool small EV, but this one is a 5-door hatchback that is positioned in a segment just above the mini EV. The new Wuling Bingo was launched today in China and it comes in 4 main color options of black, white, green, and pink. The Bingo’s dimensions are 3950/1708/1580 mm with a wheelbase of 2560 mm. It will have two options, one with a 30 kW (41hp) and another with a 50 kW (68 hp) motor. These options will come with a 17.3 kWh and a 31.9 kWh version with  range of 203-333 km, respectively.

It also starts at a very appetizing $8,681.51. That’s $8,682 for a decent 5-door car with 17.3 kWh battery and a 30 kW (41hp) motor. That’s not bad at all, and this car should sell like hot cakes. They have so far released pricing for 5 options for several trims ranging from this $8,682 to $12,093. The higher trim options also come with DC fast charging from 30% to 80% in about 5 minutes.

And so, we have another pretty cool and affordable small EV for the Chinese market. It will soon be joined by the upcoming BYD Seagull in this segment. The BYD Seagull is a small battery-electric vehicle that has a 30.7 kWh LFP battery and a 55 kW (75 hp) motor. This means that it comes in a segment just below the BYD Dolphin, another popular member of BYD’s Ocean Series. The BYD Seagull will also be priced from, yes, you guessed it, $8,700 just like the Wuling Bingo.

Another small EV I like from China is the Leapmotor T03. The T03 is already being exported to Israel and has recorded some decent sales. More of these small EVs really need to start going to new markets around the world soon. I hope the Wuling Bingo will follow the Wuling Air which is now being assembled in Indonesia and also take on the international market. BYD is already on a major export expansion drive, adding new markets for the Atto all the time it seems, however, a global push for the very affordable Seagull could really help disrupt the auto industry in several markets around the globe and really drive adoption. Let’s wait and see what plans the OEMs have for these small EVs.

Wuling Bingo Images from Zotyefan, Wikipedia,   Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0