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Chery Launched Chinese EV

One of China’s leading automakers, Chery Motors Co., has been steadily turning green this year. Following the launch of two electric concepts, the Riich M1 EV and Tiggo 3 EV (at the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show), they also released two hybrids and the S18 electric hatchback.

Now Chery is introducing the Riich M1-EV to the Chinese market for the hefty starting price of CNY149,900 (the equivalent of EUR16,000 or USD22,000). Prices go as high as CNY229,800 (EUR25,000 or USD35,000) for the most economical of variants.

The Chinese Government has decided however it will help promote the tiny electric car by introducing a CNY60,000 (approximately EUR6,500 or USD9,000) buying incentive.

The little city run-around is powered by a 54 hp (40kW) electric engine that gets its juice from a 60AH Li-ion battery. It achieves a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) and has an impressive top speed of 150km (93 miles). The battery can be charged from any 220V plug, but can take as long as 6 to 8 hours to fully charge (compare this to the 2.5 hours the i-Miev promises).

The Chinese manufacturers have taken the safety of its customers to mind, fitting the M1-EV with air bags and E-ABS and EPS. The car also has a system in place that recharges the battery when braking.

The are five different model specifications: M1-EV1,2,3,4 are all pure EVs with the same battery power pack while the EV5 uses a small petrol engine to produce extra electricity for a total estimated range of 300 km (186 miles).

What concerns us is that China does not have EV charging stations in place yet, though they are now debating the legislation needed to support such a project.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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