China's Micro EV Used To Outsell The Tesla Model Y. Now There's A New One

• The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV was a hit in China. It used to outsell the Tesla Model Y, though sales were down last year.
• Wuling sold 237,863 units of the Hongguang Mini EV in 2023, down from 404,823 in 2022.
• The current Wuling Hongguang Mini EV has a base price of $5,046 (35,800 CNY)

Before stories of BYD’s Seagull, or Nio’s Onvo brand dominated the media cycle for taking Tesla to task, there was one car that refused to leave the lips of journalists: the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. Made in part with help from GM, and said to be inspired by Japanese Kei cars, the cube-shaped tiny EV rocketed to the top of China’s EV sales charts. At one point, its roughly $4,000 price made headlines, and its sales numbers even surpassed the Tesla Model Y. But China’s market is fickle. A top seller today could be yesterday’s news at the drop of a hat. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV has fallen pretty far down the sales charts, but it looks like a new one is on the horizon with potentially broader appeal.