This Electric Minivan From China Is Less Than $10,000

China is known for its much lower car prices compared to any other part of the world, but the Wuling Hong Guang EV MPV is cheap even by Chinese standards. It’s priced from 69,800, which is equivalent to about $9,850, and for the money you get a fully-featured C-segment EV that’s slightly longer and taller than a Mercedes B-Class.

The Hong Guang MPV EV is built by the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture, and it can be ordered with either two or three rows of seats with seating for five or six people, respectively. It might look a bit tall and ungainly, but the manufacturer assures potential buyers that it has “excellent stability at high speeds and during lane changes.”

It’s not fancy—it doesn’t even have hubcaps to cover its black-painted steel wheels—but it is practical and designed to carry either people or cargo. In the official photos, it is shown with its trunk either fully loaded or about to be fully loaded, alluding to the life it’s expected to lead.

The vehicle weighs just over 2,800 pounds unladen, and it has a maximum load volume of 98.9 cubic feet.

It features a single electric motor that provides 101 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque to the rear axle. Power is stored in a 32.6-kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery that provides a claimed CLTC range of 186 miles (300 km). That will translate into a real-world range of about 124 miles (200 km), and when the time comes to replenish the battery, a 30 to 80% DC fast charge will take 30 minutes.

Wuling, better known for its cutesy mini EVs, says that the Hong Guang MPV EV will be very cheap to run, costing just $0.009 per kilometer or $0.014 per mile. The manufacturer estimates that drivers can expect to save some 21,500 yuan (just over $3,000) annually if they drive 26,000 miles (42,000 km) compared to a combustion-powered van.

It's important to note that this vehicle most likely doesn't meet the safety requirements for sale in Europe or the United States. The manufacturer says it comes with antilock brakes as standard, but not much else—the airbag for the driver is optional and the only one you can specify, while the two rear rows of seats don't even come with headrests.