Chery
M1 EV in Auto China 2010,by Gong
Zaiyan
Written by Gong Zaiyan
Photo by Gong Zaiyan
Two Chery electric cars have got the ‘birth certificates’ from Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China. Their code numbers were on the list of the 15th Recommended Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicles which was published recently.
SQR7001ELS18 is a EV version of Riich M1, a small hatchback of Chery`s high-end brand, while SQR7001EAS11 is a EV version of Chery QQ, another small hatchback positioned below M1. Electric M1 is powered by a 40kW electric motor with a lithium iron phosphate battery of about 20kWh, extending the driving range to more than 100km. Electric QQ`s system configuration may be lower.
Original versions of the two EVs, SQR7000ELS18 and SQR7000EAS11 got the certificates one year ago, but they were only made for demonstration, not for sale. New version of Electric M1 will hit Chinese market priced a little more than RMB 100,000 (€10,640) in this November. Since infrastructures in most cities are not sufficient, the sales would not be very well.
According to a policy on private green cars, the buyers of electric cars can get a maximum of RMB 60,000 (€6,380) subsidy from national government (RMB 3,000 per kWh, no more than RMB 60,000). Besides, some local governments provide additional subsidies. But the problem is that consumers can hardly find a EV for sale in the real market. Can Chery make a change?