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Last year, for every 7 electric vehicles sold in China, 1 was Wuling Hongguang MINIEV.
This car is less than 3 meters long, the price is only 20,000 or 30,000 yuan, and the pure electric double-door car with a square head and square brain has dominated the domestic electric sales list for more than a year. The imitators attracted by the huge cake finally arrived, and in January of the New Year, Chery QQ Ice Cream sold nearly 10,000 vehicles.
In the top 20 lists of new energy, there are two old rivals, Chery eQ1 (Small Ant) and SAIC Kelaiwei. In addition to Chery's tit-for-tat new car QQ Ice Cream, Dongfeng's Fengli MINI EV is also coming. Relax the size and price a little, and there is also the Zero Run T03 and Sihao E10X.
Wuling is not idle, these days just previewed the new model of Hongguang MINIEV "GAMEBOY", which has the intention of burning the micro car war from the cute sister to the straight man.
At this time last year, Wuling was still thriving, and this year's "MINI EVs" have a momentum of blossoming everywhere.
At this time, China Automobile Research Institute suddenly launched the C-NCAP micro-electric vehicle special evaluation procedure (draft for comment). The model limited to this new project is a pure electric passenger car with a length of less than 4 meters. Several of the specific models mentioned above are among them, which can be said to be specially designed for "MINI EVs".
Compared with the C-NCAP crash test of normal passenger cars, this micro-car version of C-NCAP removes 50% of the frontal bias collision and side column collision (new energy vehicle test project) in terms of passive safety, while the frontal 100% overlapping collision and side collision are the same standard. Active safety projects such as automatic emergency braking (AEB) have become "optional projects" decided by car companies in the micro-car version of C-NCAP.
The current micro-car version of C-NCAP is still the status of the draft for comments, and it is not excluded that there will be some adjustments when it is actually implemented in the future.
Remember that at the beginning of the listing of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV in 2020, the whole series was not equipped with any airbags, and it was not until the 2021 annual update that it obtained the main driving airbag. The co-pilot airbag is still exempt from talking, not to mention the side airbags and air curtains. With a starting price of less than 30,000 yuan, this question is usually overshadowed by the phrase "what bicycle do you want?"
This is still the case with the most easily perceived airbags by consumers, and other passive safety performance of the vehicle is even more difficult to evaluate under extremely limited cost constraints. Wuling Hongguang MINIEV has sold more than 500,000 vehicles so far, but there is no evidence that its safety is sufficient. This is not a problem for the Wuling family, but for the entire cheap electric microcar, and today this market is pouring in more products.
Cheapness can be a reason for low configuration, but accidents don't favor whose cars are cheaper.
According to the current test standards of the micro-car version of C-NCAP, these "MINI EVs" with a length of less than 3 meters and a price of only 30,000-50,000 yuan need to face the same as regular passenger cars: 50km/h front 100% overlap to hit rigid obstacles, and 1400kg simulated vehicles on the side hit with 50km/h (and whipping tests are not mentioned for the time being).
These two major crash tests accounted for 32/37 points, or 86.5%, in the main test scores of the "formal evaluation project", the C-NCAP. Although C-NCAP has not been the most stringent crash test, and this tentative micro-car version has skipped the most difficult 50% frontal bias collision, these two major items are really difficult to get good results for the size and price of THE MINI EV.
Even for larger models, mini cars like the Zero-Run T03 and Sihao E10X, which are about 3.6 meters long, have rear doors, and are priced at 50,000-100,000 yuan, it is not easy to get an A or B rating in such a test. Other pure electric cars with higher sales, Euler's black and white cat just announced that it would stop taking orders, and BYD Dolphin exceeded the 4-meter limit.
Still taking Wuling Hongguang MINIEV as an example, the initial version of the listing was not equipped with any airbags and was controversial. The 2021 new version of the Hongguang MINIEV adds frontal airbags for the main driver, and the price rises by about 5,000 yuan without more high-cost configuration increases.
And this is only a single frontal airbag, if you want to achieve better results in the side collision, at least the side airbag is indispensable, the cost increase brought by more airbags alone, relative to the price of 30,000-50,000 yuan is a big increase.
And that's just the airbag, considering that models the size of the MINIEV generally weigh less than a ton, and are generally narrow wheelbase, high body, in order to cope with the 1.4-ton side impact, just to avoid rolling need to overcome a lot of difficulties.
K-CAR, the "spiritual teacher" of mini EVs, will face the Japanese JNCAP crash test. JNCAP did not provide a separate "small stove" for the mini car, and the K-CAR used a standard of 55 km/h in line with normal motor vehicles, and even included a frontal bias collision of 64 km/h.
Although the people of the island country were also surprised when they saw the Hongguang MINIEV, they managed to dismantle the car to figure out how to achieve such a low cost. However, while we are proud of the cost reduction law of independent car companies, we should also understand that K-CAR is often sold for a high price of 60,000-100,000 yuan (so that it is basically impossible to be competitive in China), at least partly because of safety requirements and crash tests.
Even though they performed well under the JNCAP test, K-CVs were considered by many to be at greater risk in a real-world environment. Although some studies believe that K-CAR is as safe as ordinary motor vehicles at low and medium speeds on the front, in other more complex accidents, especially in the face of larger vehicles, it is difficult to believe that K-CAR's too small size and too light weight will not increase the severity of the accident consequences.
Under the news of the fatal accident involving K-CAR in Japan, it is not difficult to see the concerns of Japanese netizens about the safety of K-CAR.
The translation comes from Google Online Translator, just feel it
Compared with K-CAR, the electric identity of the "MINI EV" will bring some weight advantages, but it will also require higher body strength. The micro-car version of C-NCAP in the draft separately requires battery safety in addition to several crash tests, and if an open flame appears within 3 minutes after the crash test, the score will be downgraded.
C-NCAP is not a mandatory test, but C-NCAP's current principle is to actively select high-profile models in the market. This means that once a popular model like Wuling is out of the circle, once the micro-car version of C-NCAP is officially launched, unless China Automobile Research Institute ignores the public opinion call, Hongguang MINIEV may be difficult to "escape" the test.
Companies that have launched or will launch "MINI-like EVs" will be forced to rebalance the pros and cons between extreme low prices and basic safety. For models at such a price, there is almost no profit margin that can significantly improve safety without affecting the final pricing. Once security is a consumer concern, price increases are imperative.
When a micro-electric vehicle needs both a decent battery life and a good C-NCAP score, the possibility of continuing to list prices of 20,000-30,000 yuan as it is today will be greatly reduced (especially in the context of the recent soaring raw material prices). And when a micro-car more than 3 meters long, two people ride, buy vegetables and endurance, generally need 50,000 yuan or even higher, the first two years of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV's hot scene will continue for how long, I am afraid that I need to mark a question mark.