Author: Qiu Kaijun
A new player has emerged in the short-distance travel market rediscovered by the Hongguang MINI EV. However, this new entrant is not a copycat, but a veteran of the short-distance travel market for over a decade: the Leiding automobile.
On April 12th, the first mass-produced Leiding Mango was officially unveiled at their Weifang factory in Shandong. The vehicle offers three models with different ranges of 130 kilometers, 185 kilometers, and 300 kilometers, with a starting pre-sale price of 29,800 yuan.
This price may not be lower than that of the Hongguang MINI EV. However, the Mango is a four-door, four-seat vehicle with a wheelbase of 2.44 meters, making its price-to-performance ratio even more impressive. In addition, Leiding Automobile has been dedicated to the short-distance travel market for micro electric vehicles since 2008. It is no surprise that they have made a pure electric micro-electric car. Leiding’s general manager, Shu Xin, revealed that they expect to produce and sell 100,000 units this year, 400,000 by 2022, and 600,000 by 2023.
Larger Travel Vehicle
Unlike the popular micro car Hongguang MINI EV, although Mango is also aimed at the short-distance travel market, it is larger in size and has longer range options.
Mango is designed to be 3620 * 1610 * 1525 mm in size with a wheelbase of 2440 mm. In terms of wheelbase, it has entered the A0 sedan range.
Although the rear space of Mango is not huge, it is still much more spacious than A00-class models like the Hongguang MINI EV.
In terms of performance, this car has three versions with ranges of 130 kilometers, 185 kilometers, and 300 kilometers, all of which use lithium iron phosphate batteries. The 300-kilometer range version supports fast charging, and the time to charge from 30% to 80% is only half an hour. The high-end version also has four major intelligent auxiliary driving systems.
The power battery undergoes six major limit tests and has a quality guarantee of eight years or 120,000 kilometers. The vehicle’s economy is outstanding, costing only 5 yuan to travel 100 kilometers.
In terms of appearance, the Mango’s design is not radical, its highlights are mainly in the color scheme. It is available in multiple colors such as dew green, malt yellow, cloud white, and lunar grey. It is also on par with the Hongguang MINI EV’s so-called macaroon colors.
The purchase price and operating cost of the Leiding Mango are low, and it is also a pure electric passenger car that doesn’t require license plate restrictions.
100,000 Units This Year, 400,000 Units Next Year, and 600,000 Units in the Following Year
The Mango is truly a powerful vehicle for Leiding’s foray into the passenger car market and reflects the company’s grand goals.The general manager of Reading Motors, Shu Xin, revealed during a media exchange that, in addition to Mango, Reading Motors has included Mango MINI in its product plan of the last few years and will have new products next year. The production and sales plan for this year is 100,000 vehicles, 400,000 vehicles for next year, and 600,000 vehicles for the year after. Such goals are certainly ambitious. In the history of electric vehicles in China, only Hongguang MINI EV and Tesla Model 3 have sold over 100,000 vehicles in their first year.
Nevertheless, Reading Motors is quite confident. Firstly, in terms of production capacity, Reading Motors has three major brands under its umbrella, which include new energy passenger and commercial vehicles as well as traditional energy products across various industries. It also has four major vehicle production bases in Chengdu, Mianyang, Weifang, and Xianyang, with a total production capacity of over 600,000 vehicles.
Secondly, in terms of distribution channels, Reading has been active in this market since 2008 and has accumulated over one million end-users. It has established more than 3,000 primary terminals and 10,000 secondary terminals. In order to sell Mango, Reading will gradually develop its dealerships and establish a brand new storefront image.
Enabling 600 million people to own a car
The positioning of Reading Mango is to address the short-to-medium-range travel needs of the 600 million urban residents in China.
Reading Motors believes that China’s new energy vehicle industry has entered a crucial stage of full electrification of personal vehicles, with a market size conservatively estimated to be over 200 million units. However, currently, the main selling price range for new energy models is concentrated between 50,000 to 150,000 CNY, which is clearly not what new urban residents need. The mass-produced Reading Mango is designed to enable 600 million people to own a car. Shu Xin stated that the main selling price range for Reading Motors would fall between 30,000 to 40,000 CNY, which is in line with the purchasing power of most buyers.
Shi Jianhua, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, attended the Mango release ceremony and stated that the mass production of the Reading Mango is a revolution in the history of Chinese people’s travels.”Our country is a rapidly rising developing country with vast territory and a large population. In recent years, with the advanced high-speed rail network as the representative, the transportation needs between cities and provinces have been addressed. At the same time, with a 50km radius as the center, the demand for “light travel” of 600 million new urban residents urgently needs attention. This is a tens of trillions of scale market that is about to be ignited, with huge development space. The proposal of “People drive Reading” by Reading Motors is timely and has broad prospects,” he said.
At the Mango offline ceremony, Shu Xin said that Reading Motors will continue to focus on the new energy vehicle market in China’s third, fourth, and fifth-tier cities, define and develop vehicles based on medium and short-distance scenarios, promote the innovation and upgrading of electric vehicles for the public, and realize the grand change of “one family, one Reading” as soon as possible.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.