China’s automotive landscape is buzzing with innovation, and minicars are leading the charge. Unlike Japan’s Kei cars, which follow a strict formula that restricts engine size and dimensions, Chinese minicars have no fixed definition. Generally, the max length is about 11 feet. Most are three-door hatchbacks, but automakers also sell five-door variants, coupes, and off-road variants. The broad Chinese term is 微型轿车 (wéixíng chē). Minicars are classified as real cars and are allowed on the highway, so these are not LSEVs (low-speed electric vehicles); that is a separate vehicle category with even smaller cars that are only allowed to drive in the city. Jason owns one of those.
A Market Bursting with Options
Everything in China is in abundance, big and lavish. Consumers can choose between more cars than anywhere else in the world. This also applies to the minicar market.
It is difficult to find an exact number because new variants appear almost every day. At the beginning of 2025, there will be about 38 brands offering minicars. Some of these brands also make larger cars, but other brands only make mini cars. Due to the growing market, new players are constantly emerging.
A brand like Bestune, which previously mainly made large gasoline-powered cars, suddenly launched a minicar in 2024 that had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the range in style and size. But there are even odder ones out. The automaker BAW is best known for the 212 series, an indestructible all-terrain vehicle, but this company also saw an opportunity and came up with a minicar as well.
How Expensive?!
Minicars are very cheap, and thanks to increased competition getting even cheaper. The current bargain of the month is the Wuling Mini EV, which sells for 23,800 yuan after a price cut. That is $3,246!
Last month, the cheapest minicar was the Bestune Pony at 24.900 yuan or $3396::
Next month, there will be another car cheaper yet again. Even the most expensive minicars cost no more than $8000. The average base price is around $3500. There is often a relatively big difference between the cheapest and most expensive variants of a model. This is because brands offer many different versions, with less or more power, small or large batteries, and all kinds of levels of luxury.
An example is the Chery QQ Ice Cream (shown above), which is available in nine different versions. The cheapest costs $4080 and the most expensive one goes for $7216.
Bold Designs That Stand Out
To distinguish themselves in such a busy market, car brands are experimenting with creativity and daring design. Thanks to the electric drive, there is plenty of space. There are cars with a square cabin, or round, or half-half. The designers have no regard for current conventions and traditions. Everything is possible and everything is allowed, as long as it stands out. This also applies to the finish and colors. Large headlights are popular, as are roof spoilers, two-tone color schemes, and colored wheels.
Wuling Air EV
Of all the minicar makers, Wuling goes the furthest with the design. The Air EV is an almost indescribable device, with a one-box teardrop-shaped body with mirrors attached to the lamps and rear windows that are out of line. Yet the car is in great demand in China.
Huazi Omega
The most exceptional minicar is the Huazi Omega, a notchback sports model with round lights, wide wheel arches, and 15-spoke rims. It is the National Car, according to Huazi. It isn’t cheap at $6383 for the base model; it has 33 hp, a 10.24 kWh battery, and an 80-mile range.
Pocco MeiMei
The Pocco MeiMei is a sporty minicar with a low hood and sports seats, painted in Wave Red.
BAW Jiabao
BAW Jiabao. The BAW Jiabao has a complex and sophisticated front design, with a light bar for the daytime running lights, headlights down below, a sporty bumper section, and a shiny BAW logo. The Jiabao costs 39.8oo yuan ($5429). It is 138 inches long, it has rear-wheel drive, 34 hp, a 10.88 kWh battery, and a 75-mile range.
Baizhi Big Bear
Some minicars are a bit more utilitarian, like the Baizhi Big Bear. Yours for $3792.
Wuling Mini EV 5-door Capybara Edition
Above is the upcoming Wuling Mini EV 5-door version, which was announced with silly cartoon decals. No tiny stickers here, it’s an entire landscape on the doors!
Playful Interiors With Weirdness
Designers go even further in the interior, with dashboards in all shapes and sizes and trendy two-spoke steering wheels. Above all, the interior is expected to be nice.
Busy color schemes are highly sought after, with colored steering wheels, seat belts, and sun visors. There are large round buttons and pedals with buttons such as +/⇑ for forward and -/⏸ for stop. Buyers of these types of cars often put things on top of the dashboard; the manufacturers have responded to this with boxes that are sometimes equipped with a Lego mat on which the little-ones can click their creations. There is often no room for a cup holder between the seats. That is why minicar brands look for other solutions, such as cup holders in the corners of the dashboard.
Changan Lumin
Above is one of the best interiors in the minicar business. With blue, pink, black, and silver trim.
ZD Rainbow
ZD goes pretty far with pink. Everything is pink — even the steering wheel! The ZD Rainbow also comes with marble-style white-pink trim in the door-cards, around the drive selector, and on the center stack.
Bestune Pony
The Bestune Pony has a retro-center console with a vintage Nintendo-controller-style audio unit. The large dial on the left is the drive selector. Also, note the pedals with ⏸for stop and ︽ for drive. But the best stuff is on top.
On the right is a cup holder and on the left is a brick baseplate, which is meant to be a base plate, it isn’t just a funny pattern.
When it was launched, Bestune included a Pony Camping Playset with the Pony. The set was also sold in Bestune’s online shops. The set features a pink Pony, a tea set, a BBQ with two chicken legs, a case of beer (yeah!), some nature, and a telescope.
A Screen For Every Budget
Screens are cheap in China, so almost every minicar has digital instruments. The infotainment offering varies. The basic versions have no more than a small LCD screen and a USB port for the smartphone. The more expensive models have a real touchscreen for infotainment.
The Fengon MiniEV, shown below, has a unique design where the screen is positioned sort of in front of the passenger. Some screens are a bit strange in shape, for example, the Pocco MeiMei has an upright rectangular instrument cluster that looks like it came straight out of a video game from the 1990s, complete with a racing wheel. The screen graphics are usually wild and busy, packing loads of information. Many minicar makers have also designed cartoon-style digital assistants that talk and move around over the screen.
Fengon MINIEV
Fengon is a brand under automaker “Seres.” The MINIEV has an interesting dashboard. As mentioned before, the touchscreen for the infotainment is located in front of the front passenger. The only cup holder is on the far right side of the dashboard. What if the driver wants to change the song and drink some tea? They can’t. The air vents are nicely hidden behind decorated panels. There is storage on top and below the dash.
On a side note: Fengon didn’t steal the name from Wuling. See, it is the Fengon MINIEV, spelled in all caps as one word, whereas the Wuling Mini EV is spelled with fewer caps and as two words. Different!
Lingbox UNI
The Lingbox UNI has a phone holder for a screen. It makes sense. I have seen trillions of Chinese drivers using their smartphones for navigation, even in cars with high-tech zillion-inch screens.
BAW Jiabao
The BAW Jiabao (家宝) with the optional twin-10.25-inch screen. The digital assistant is called Xiaobao. Call sign: Xiaobao Xiaobao (小宝小宝).
Pocco MeiMei
The Pocco MeiMei is ready to race. Check that wheel! Flat bottom, extra grip, and red trim!
JMEV EV3 Lucky
JMEV EV3 Lucky. The company calls this a “simple high-definition digital screen.” That seems about right.
Many Of The Powertrains Are Interchangeable
The prices of minicars are low, mainly due to the low production costs. China is the workshop of the world in the largest EV market in the world. This means that every part of an EV is available in its own country.
Car brands can therefore purchase complete drivetrains, motors, and even bodywork off the shelf from other suppliers. Car makers only have to assemble, and even that does not always happen, because in China there is also a lot of contract manufacturing in this segment, where a brand completely outsources production to a third party.
As a result, it often happens that the specifications of minicars from different brands are very similar, for example with the same power because they use the same engines. Details such as fog lights and wheels are also often comparable. With a little skill, it should be possible to exchange the various parts between minicars of other brands. Because the minicars are easy to assemble, maintenance is cheap. In addition to brand dealers, there are also endless smaller garages that can carry out the most common repairs for a few dollars. Parts are not expensive in China anyway, a set of new tires for the minicar costs less than 100 dollars including labor. Many parts are also interchangeable so that even small garages can quickly build up a large stock.
The Technical Side
Underneath their whimsical exteriors, Chinese minicars boast smart engineering. Built on lightweight EV platforms, they weigh around 750 kg (under 1,700 pounds) on average. Most are rear-wheel drive, though some are front-wheel drive.
The motors and batteries are purchased from specialized suppliers. Power varies greatly. The basic models have around 27 hp and 63 ft-lbs, while the top models produce around 41 hp and 81 ft-lbs. This means the minicars can reach a top speed of about 65 to 75 miles per hour.
The battery is under the floor, between the front and rear axle. Without exception, they are LFP batteries. The capacity varies greatly. The smallest batteries have an average capacity of 9 kWh and a range of approximately 75 miles. The largest batteries have around 17 kWh and can travel 134 miles. Energy consumption is relatively low due to the low weight, with a broad average of eight to nine kWh per 62 miles. Most minicars can only charge AC. A full charge can easily take seven hours. However, the more expensive minicars can also use DC fast charging and are often ready to continue driving in half an hour.
The most commonly used brake layout is disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear. The minicars generally do not go fast, so rear disc brakes are unnecessary. Moreover, drum brakes are much cheaper. The suspension is simple. Most minicars have a MacPherson suspension at the front and a semi-independent suspension with a torsion rear axle at the rear.
Designed With Women in Mind
In China, it is completely normal for a brand to launch a car specifically aimed at women. Brands openly admit this and no one makes things complicated about it. These cars often come with cute model names and in soft colors. They are also equipped with female-friendly features such as large makeup mirrors, cooled makeup boxes, and an extensive automatic parking function.
Many of the minicars have been developed for female buyers, and this is visible in the marketing, where women predominate, with or without a girlfriend or children. Some brands take a broader approach and sell both female and male variants of the same car. An example is the Geely Geome Panda. The Panda Knight has busy bumpers and a roof ladder, while the Panda Mini Cute Bear is covered in light pink accents. An interesting intermediate form is the Panda Karting, a racing model with many spoilers that is also available in bright pink.
Changan Lumin
The Changan Lumin is a bulbous little fellow, apparently popular with pigeons and fashionable folks. The car in the photo is painted in Moss Green.
ZD Rainbow
ZD, or Zhidou, is a small Chinese EV minicar brand. The advert features a non-Chinese lady, which is rare in advertising in the minicar segment.
Lingbox Box
Who’s your daddy now? Even the wooden table is painted in a soft tone. Pink roses, too.
JMC EV3 Lucky
JMC EV3 Lucky, pink ballons with a pink car and a pink family.
Geely Geome Panda Knight, Panda Cute Bear, and Panda Karting.
Geome Panda Knight. For men who like ladders. It has big bumpers, tow hitches, handles on the bonnet, wheel arch extensions, sidebars, cool wheels, roof rails, and that ladder.
Geome Panda Cute Bear, for ladies who like stuffed panda bears. The wheels are shaped like panda claws. Geely has a long history with panda-themed cars. Back in 2009, Geely sold the GLeagle Panda, with panda-eye styled headlights.
Geome Panda Carting, for racy ladies.
Crazy Specials: Turning Heads in the Minicar Market
Another way to stand out is to release special editions, sometimes with other brands that are popular with the target group, such as ice creams, coffee, or cartoons. Wuling has the Macaron Edition, after the French cookies, and the Capybara Edition, after the Japanese rodent/cartoon. Geely created a W.T. Duck Edition of the Panda, and Bestune has the My Little Pony Edition, with the cartoon horses. With other specials, it is mainly about the color. For example, the ZD Rainbow Edition has seven colors, at the same time, on the same car.
ZD Rainbow Seven Colors Edition
This is the ZD Rainbow Seven Colors Edition, a special edition of the ZD Rainbow. The Rainbow Seven Colors Edition combines the seven colors that are available for the standard Rainbow on one car.
The color names are great, as always (my translation): Free Blue, Fresh Green, Charming Purple, Brilliant Yellow, Temperament Apricot, Tough Gold, and Courage Pink. The car in the background is a standard Rainbow, painted in Tough Gold, which is the color of the door of the Rainbow Seven Colors Edition. A bit complicated, but I like the way it looks. Sadly, ZD didn’t do the wheels in seven colors too.
At the California Drive-in, with Courage Pink, Charming Purple, and the Seven Colors Edition.
ZD delivery ceremony in the city of Shangqiu, Henan Province. The Seven Color Edition is in the middle. In its press release about the event, ZD said: “ZD has tailor-made the Rainbow model for the female population, with extremely colorful body colors to meet the pursuit of good-looking and personalized cars by female groups of different ages.”
Bestune Pony My Little Pony Edition
The Pony My Little Pony Edition is a special edition inspired by the My Little Pony cartoon series, a predominantly girl-watched show about five ponies. The Pony My Little Pony Edition is painted in a color called Little Chery Pink with My Little Pony stickers on the doors.
Chery QQ Ice Cream Youth Edition
The Chery QQ Ice Cream Youth Edition debuted in April 2024. Chery issued a press release, saying [translated]: “It’s April and spring is in full bloom. What color can capture the hearts of young people more? The answer is of course green! … [the] QQ Ice Cream Youth Edition has added a pure green car color, which symbolizes the splendor of spring, freedom and new ideas. It is not only 100% suitable for the beautiful spring, but also creates a vibrant city for young users. , a carefree dream world that allows young people to abandon their anxiety and enjoy the wantonness and happiness brought by their youth.”
The Youth Edition is painted in green with yellow dragon decals. “Loong” is a play on long, the Chinese word for dragon.
Geely Geome Panda W.T. Duck Edition
The W.T. Duck Edition is co-branded with W.T. Duck (什么鸭), a popular clothing, toy, and consumer electronics brand. It has duck decals and yellow wheels, and the interior got a makeover too.
A typical W.T. Duck playset.
Simple, User-friendly, and Practical
Everyone should be able to drive a minicar and the operation has been deliberately kept as simple as possible, without complicated systems. The vast majority of minicars still have an old-fashioned handbrake. With rear-wheel drive, you can theoretically drift with it. The drive selection button is usually located between the front seats or on the dashboard. There are two control levers behind the steering wheel and the functions are almost always the same: the lighting is on the left and the windshield wipers are on the right. The buttons are large and clearly marked. The front seats can be adjusted manually and consist of one piece with a fixed integrated headrest. The front windows are electrically operated, but the rear windows often cannot be opened.
The center console in the Henrey Xiaohu. Simple does it.
Large buttons for the AC in the ViAuto Boma EV.
The minicars are also practical. The boxy and high cabins translate into a lot of space given the vehicle footprint. The luggage space is not that bad either. Most cars have around 90 liters with peaks of up to 130. The rear seat can fold down for extra space. In some cars, the rear seats can be removed, turning the minicar into a minivan, with easily 700 liters of cargo space. The doors open up to 90 degrees, making it easy to get in and out.
A flat floor and white luggage nets in the pink ZD Rainbow (3-door).
Suitcases in the Wuling Mini EV. Trunk space is 123 liter and 745 liter with the rear seats down.
Get in & get out easy in the Pocco DuoDuo.
Top Sellers
Minicar sales are about 100,000 units per month in China. The absolute emperor of the segment is the Wuling Mini EV, with 37,747 units sold in December. However, the Mini EV Family, as Wuling calls it, consists of 2 cars: the original Mini EV and an updated Second Generation Mini EV.
But even when you cut the number in half, the Mini EV is still first. The second place was for the Changan Lumin with 13.027 and the Bestune Pony was third with 12,560 units sold. The Geome Panda sold 10.659 units for fourth place. Then it goes rapidly downwards, the Chery Ice Cream sold 5,479 units, the ZD Rainbow 2,250, and the Linbbox Box 1,159. The others are selling even less. The brilliant BAW Jiabao? 25 units in December! The Fengon with the weird screen? Only 23! So it’s a top-heavy statistic, the top 3 best-selling minicars take more than 50% of the entire market.
To sell more, car makers often work with celebrities. Bestune has made an endorsement deal with Wu Yanni (吴艳妮) a famous track & field athlete. Wu is known for her cool-wild personality and tattoos. However, the Chinese government isn’t very fond of tattooing. So in most races, Wu hides her tattoos, and in the Bestune photo, the tattoos are shopped away.
The Future Is Bright
Everything is possible and everything is for sale; the minicar market excels through creativity and flexibility, and that makes it one of the nicest segments in China. As long as the market continues to grow, new brands will emerge. The Chinese consumer is spoiled and is always looking for something new. To stay afloat, brands must constantly innovate and continually come up with new models. Not everyone will survive the competitive battle, but a vacant spot will immediately be taken by a new player. The result? A vibrant and ever-evolving segment that promises endless possibilities. For minicar enthusiasts, the party has only just begun!
Commercial Vehicles
Many brands also make mini commercial vehicles such as small vans, vans, and pick-up trucks. These types of vehicles are mainly intended for delivery services, government services, and taxi companies. As always, the manufacturers make hundreds of models in thousands of variants. There are trucks with large and small containers, with a cooled or heated loading space, mini container trucks, and food trucks. More on these vehicles in an upcoming post.
These have to have some kind of exemption from C-NCAP crash testing. As Chinese crash safety standards increase, I wonder if they’ll eventually put some restrictions like a 80 or 100km/h speed limit to discourage highway use. That being said, the low power and range may discourage highway use enough already. These cars are slow enough to make the CLTC cycle realistic in the city, but running at/near top speed will probably tank efficiency especially with the poor boxy aero.
I like cheap cheerful cars—especially if they’re visible. I’d sport a Geely Geome Panda What The Duck Edition.
* theoretically: the slave labor issue is a massive no-sale.
The USA desperately needs a category like this, for so many people that’s really all the car you need.
It’s surprising how many features some of these have; the JMC EV3 uses a heads-up display for its instrument cluster (the type kind that has its own little reflector, not one that reflects off the windshield) and can get a surround view camera (which is super unnecessary). Also, didn’t Ford get rid of their auto parking system in all their model, while some of these can park themselves into any kind of parking spot?
LOVE these, they would be eatin alive by our giant trucks but man one of these around the city would rock.
I think only the Coco Boxer looks sort of correct. and it is of course the LSV variety. Though, let’s be honest, none of these would even remotely pass the NHTSA sniff tests and if they were to be made to pass the regulations the price has to go up as a result.
I just think back to the Kandi K27 Failure and wonder how they get away with selling these in their domestic market even.
Great article!! Just outstanding. I wish we could buy cars like this, for the same money in the USA. China might be Communist, but in many ways it seems they get a lot more options and freedom than we get. Can you imagine the boost to our economy if young people could go buy a brand new car for $3500?
Man, I need that Big Bear in my life.
Also is the Panda What the Duck Edition the first car named after two different animals?
Love the Lumin’s styling, really stands out in the crowd of square-ish mini EVs. Sadly I couldn’t justify spending $10K on what essentially was a fully-loaded microcar, so I ended up with a practical and sensible pre-owned Renault EV (for less than half price!)
Side note, these mini EVs are so simple that they’re ludicrously easy to mod. But it’s no longer about power or handling, instead its adding range, DC fast charging and even DIY range extenders! One of my aunts bought herself a poverty-spec Wuling Mini EV, then added a 14kWh auxiliary battery and DC fast charging (essentially a DC-DC converter, 400V from the charger to 100V for the main+aux batteries, fast charge socket goes under the hood, yes you have to prop it up everytime you fast charge) for less than $2K combined. A 150cc 5KW range extender would only cost $500 extra.
What I take away from this is that a $3000 minicar can have physical climate controls, but a $50000 crossover can’t. WTF?
You begin to see one of the many benefits of having a Glorious Revolution.
These are awesome. Like kei cars but with the steering wheel on the correct side 😛
Can you get service for these one-off cars from all the new pop-up companies, or do you throw the car away and buy a new one every two years or after you crack the screen or after the battery dies out, whichever comes first?
The article says that a lot of them are using a lot of off-the-shelf components, so I imagine they’re more serviceable than you might think.
Glad to see people standing by the cars for scale. They don’t seem so Micro
Not to be outdone by Bestune, he-who-shall-not-be-named will now release a new line of micro-EV, named Model 420, and hire Sha’Carri Richardson as the spokesperson.
The Chinese have embraced fun interior touches that used to be hallmarks of Italian design.
Man I love these. Always loved Kei cars, but some of these are next level fun.
There are a few things I think China, (or more accurately its citizens) lacks in abundance.
Thank the Good Christ above we here in the US are protected from the evils of Chinese automobiles, such as the *checks notes* Pocco MeiMei, Lingbox Box, and Wuling Mini EV Capybara edition.
It’s almost certainly suppressing demand for the GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Capybara edition.
That’s just GM being a capycat, anyway.
In our alternative universe, the GMC Sierra is the same size as a 1989 Toyota pickup, weighs 2,500 pounds, and has begun offering the Capybara edition as competition for Ford’s Sugar Glider-edition F-150, which has managed to undercut the Sierra by weighing 200 pounds less. I hope I’m doing well in that universe.