The SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture has produced one of the most successful electric cars in China, the Wuling Hong Guan Mini EV. This electric car is so popular among Chinese drivers that Wuling is making a cabrio model for 2022 despite convertibles not selling well in the country, as Car News China reports.
The company had teased a convertible model at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show in April, and claimed that the car would go into production sometime next year.
A few videos of the convertible circulated around since then, but not much else besides the statement from Wuling. Now, a new entry into China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology confirms that the Mini EV Cabrio is coming to market, per Car News China.
The production Mini EV Cabrio looks less premium than the concept. It loses the LED side strip, but gets a side marker in return. I know I’d rather have to change out that tiny bulb when it goes out than have to mess with an entire LED array.
The front and rear lighting also appear less premium, going from two circular LEDs that looked like the headlights on the Honda e to a blockier shape that looks more like the c-shaped lights on a a lot of modern trucks.
The wheels look nearly identical, though, and so does the A-pillar and most everything above the door. The production model probably won’t get the body-coloured mirror, either. But the two-tone paint is still kind of here!
This is a low-cost entry, low-cost ownership electric car after all, so the small design touches the production model lost aren’t a big deal.
People in China aren’t buying the Mini EV for its design; they’re buying it at a reported rate of 1,800 models per day because it’s cheap and its range is good enough. The hardtop model starts at ¥28,000, or about A$6,177, and has a range of 169 km.
The Mini EV Cabrio is getting the same 26 horsepower electric motor as the coupé, but its price and range is still unknown. I imagine it won’t be that different from the roofed models.
