GM-partnered SAIC Outsells Tesla And Nio In China With Its $4,500 Mini EV

Tesla Inc TSLA, along with other EV players such as Nio Inc. - ADR  NIO, XPeng Inc. - ADR XPEV and the Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. Ltd. BYDDF, are considered serious competitors in the electric vehicle race in the lucrative Chinese market.

Surprisingly, the top spot for the best-selling EV model in China does not go to any of these companies, but the SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co.

What Happened: SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. is a tripartite partnership of two Chinese state-owned automakers, SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, and U.S.-based General Motors Company GM that was established in November 2002. GM has a 44% stake in the company, with SAIC and Guangxi owning 50.1% and 5.9% stake, respectively.

SAIC-GM-Wuling manufactures Wuling brand mini-trucks and minivans, as well as Baojun brand passenger vehicles. The company began selling the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV in July 2020. The car is currently priced at around 28,800 yuan ($4,500).

Related Link: Nio Vs. XPeng: How Chinese EV Duo's May Deliveries Stack Up

So far, the company has sold about 270,000 units of the mini-EV, according to Bloomberg.

In April, about 26,592 Wuling Hongguang Mini EVs were sold, better than Tesla's numbers at 25,845 vehicles, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

Although the mini-EV trails behind major EV manufacturers in terms of performance metrics, it scores better than others for convenience and price competitiveness.

What Happened: The Sino-U.S. alliance is aiming for annual sales of 1.2 million vehicles in 2022, according to Bloomberg. This is almost equal to the number of EVs manufactured by Chinese carmakers in 2020.

The company is capitalizing on consumer preference for environmentally friendly vehicles and government incentives to promote these vehicles.

The affordability of the mini-EV is its main selling proposition.

Related Link: XPeng Analyst: Automaker Leads Chinese EV Market In Autonomous Driving

SAIC