Zero Electric Microcar
If you’ve been wanting a cheap Chinese EV, well, unfortunately, this isn’t quite it, but it is cheap. You can buy one of these for US$12,000. Technically, it looks like a car it’s more like a quadricycle.
I think it’s actually called the Zero Electric Microcar the price is $11,900. Unfortunately, it can only be driven at speeds limited to 25 miles an hour.
Rules it out for any highways or any real proper roads, unfortunately.
Features of the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle
It’s called a neighborhood electric vehicle it offers a 90-mile range, it’s got really good range for a car with such slow speeds.
it has a 3.2 kilowatt onboard charger that can recharge in under three hours on simply a household connection.
It’s designed for quick trips around town let’s say you lived in a small city, for example.
It has a tiny upright frame, two seats, and a small front. It’s 88 inches long, which is about 55 inches shorter than a Fiat 580, meaning it’s very small, but it would be much safer than, say, riding an electric bicycle around.
The 25 MPH Conundrum
Now, it’s limited to 25 miles an hour, but I can see what people will do, and that is remove the speed limiter, then you might be able to do something like 40 miles an hour in the vehicle.
But because it’s a neighborhood electric vehicle, federal regulations prohibit driving it on roads with a speed limit greater than 35 miles an hour.
With the 25-mile-per-hour speed limiter, you’re pretty restricted.
Features
I’m not going to guess this car is going to sell that well, but a lot of people are talking about it, and a lot of people are interested because, a lot of people spend this much money on a bicycle in the in the world.
It does have some nice features you can get air conditioning.
It does have heating as well it’s got power steering, a review camera, an optional head unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality.
Apparently, the company says that it’s going to have some extra features coming soon.
Journey from China to the U.S
They can produce 4,000 vehicles a year so these are technically made in the United States.
So I’m going to guess that they’re actually assembled in the US, and the majority of the parts probably come from China.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
It doesn’t qualify for any EV incentives. So that would suggest that’s pretty likely. why don’t companies in the US just import these cheap EVs from China, pay the 27.5% tax.
It’s not that bad, really 27.5%, because you can buy EVs in China that are miles better than this for 4,000 US dollars, literally.
technically, you might call it a quadricycle, but it’s a proper vehicle. It’s got airbags, it’s actually a proper car.
Budget-Friendly Electric Vehicles
You’re looking at 200 miles of range if you pay a couple of extra thousand dollars. But really, why not just import that? Pay the tax, pay the shipping cost. You’re still going to come get one to the States for 10 grand.
Chuck a few thousand dollars on top as your actual your sales price, the actual commission you’re making.
And well, you’ve got a great car that would be way better than this. maybe someone could do it in Mexico, too.
Role of Micro-EVs
Then you could maybe avoid some of the 27.5% tax. If you took it in Mexico and then brought them through the back door, no one will really blink an eye.
I mean, it wouldn’t really make any dent on the American automotive market. Either way, it’d be a good option I know there’s a lot of people who are interested.
It could be good for college students, for example, people that are just driving around campus or driving around small cities.