Photo: Wuling
Badge engineering is a practice many automakers pledged not to use ever again. After all, it gives customers a bad impression that this was a lazy engineering solution. However, it seems the Chinese market is so big that it offers some leeway: someone will always buy cars made that way. The latest example comes from Wuling. Although it is yet to reveal the NanoEV at the Tianjin Auto Show on September 29, leaked images show it will just be a rebadged Baojun E200, which dates back to 2018. Wuling even required Disney’s help to make it more appealing.
Our colleagues from Autohome published leaked images of a special series of the Wuling NanoEV inspired by Zootopia. There will be Judy cars (pink), Nick EVs (green), and all the two-seaters will come with a “Dream Travel Magic Box” that looks just like an ordinary plastic lunch bag.
Baojun is a brand conceived by General Motors in a joint venture with SAIC and Wuling. Unlike what some may think, Wuling was not created by the American automaker: it has produced minivans in China since 1982. The deal with GM was struck in 2001.
These leaked pictures and images published by the MIIT (the Chinese Ministry of Industry, Information, Technology) present without a doubt what the NanoEV really is. Just check our gallery above and try to say if you are looking at the Wuling or the Baojun without reading the information.
Another evidence lies in the technical specifications. The E200 is 2.50 meters (98.4 inches) long, 1.53 m (60.2 in) wide, 1.62 m (63.8 in) tall, and has a wheelbase of 1.60 m (63 in). Those are precisely the dimensions for the NanoEV that MIIT informed. The new EV will weigh 850 kilograms (1,874 pounds) and has a battery pack of 230 Ah or 24 kWh, which gives it a maximum range of 270 km (167 miles). Expect the Nano EV to offer the same specs here as well.
The Baojun E200 costs RMB54,800 ($8,474 at the current exchange rate), making it weirdly more expensive than the Hongguang Mini EV. Wuling’s four-seater starts at RMB37,600 ($5,814). Despite Judy, Nick, and the Dream Travel Magic Box, the NanoEV will only make sense if it is cheaper than that.
Baojun is a brand conceived by General Motors in a joint venture with SAIC and Wuling. Unlike what some may think, Wuling was not created by the American automaker: it has produced minivans in China since 1982. The deal with GM was struck in 2001.
These leaked pictures and images published by the MIIT (the Chinese Ministry of Industry, Information, Technology) present without a doubt what the NanoEV really is. Just check our gallery above and try to say if you are looking at the Wuling or the Baojun without reading the information.
Another evidence lies in the technical specifications. The E200 is 2.50 meters (98.4 inches) long, 1.53 m (60.2 in) wide, 1.62 m (63.8 in) tall, and has a wheelbase of 1.60 m (63 in). Those are precisely the dimensions for the NanoEV that MIIT informed. The new EV will weigh 850 kilograms (1,874 pounds) and has a battery pack of 230 Ah or 24 kWh, which gives it a maximum range of 270 km (167 miles). Expect the Nano EV to offer the same specs here as well.
The Baojun E200 costs RMB54,800 ($8,474 at the current exchange rate), making it weirdly more expensive than the Hongguang Mini EV. Wuling’s four-seater starts at RMB37,600 ($5,814). Despite Judy, Nick, and the Dream Travel Magic Box, the NanoEV will only make sense if it is cheaper than that.
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