Author: Dolly Jun

Did you travel during the recent National Day holiday? According to the data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, there were 515 million domestic trips in China from October 1 to 7. As one of them, I traveled with my partner to nearby cities of Kunming by self-driving.

This raises a question: what is the best mode of transportation for one or two people to travel comfortably during the holidays? When I drove my traditional fuel car, which is nearly 5 meters long, I was frustrated most of the time. First, the highway was congested. If the car stalled at this time, you would not be able to experience the joy of air conditioning. Second, most service areas along the way did not provide refueling services, while charging piles on the side were in normal use.

This made me start to think, are new energy vehicles, even small electric passenger cars, feasible for self-driving during vacations?

Would you use a small electric passenger car for self-driving?

First of all, various public transportation modes in China, such as airplanes, high-speed trains, and intercity trains, have covered different regions. We have more choices of destinations for traveling during holidays. In self-driving tours, short-distance travel is more than long-distance travel. According to the “National Day Travel Report of Car Internet Users,” we can easily find that local and surrounding tours (78%) have become the main theme of this year’s National Day Golden Week. Among them, more than 60% of users traveled a distance of ≤200 kilometers, nearly 38% of users traveled alone or with their partners, and most users drove around 100-150 kilometers per day during the holidays.

From this point of view, small electric passenger cars do have very good feasibility. Taking the Pocco N-series as an example, their cruising ranges are 128 km and 178 km respectively. The cruising ranges of the Pocco M-series are also 116 km and 170 km. In terms of the most crucial cruising range, they have perfectly met the current users’ driving range during holidays. And they also have many other advantages.

For short-distance travel in small electric passenger cars, due to their compact design, they are easy to park, especially during holiday travel when it is difficult to find a parking space near tourist attractions and historical sites, which can be as difficult as winning a lottery. It is worth mentioning that new energy vehicles, with green license plates, have the privilege of not being subject to traffic restrictions and are eligible for a series of preferential policies, such as exemption from parking fees in certain cities.

I cannot emphasize enough that, given another chance, I would definitely choose to embark on a worry-free and comfortable self-driving trip during this year’s National Day holiday with a small electric passenger car.

How to Choose a Small Electric Passenger Car?

Currently, most Chinese households have purchased fuel cars. Should families that are considering adding a second car still buy a fuel car? Not necessarily, as the convenience, reliability, and peripheral supporting facilities of new energy vehicles have gradually improved. Moreover, considering the range of the user’s travel, a small electric passenger car may be the best option. So, how should we choose among the various models in the market?

Look at the sales volume! According to the data published by the China Passenger Car Association, in August, 5316 Roewe Marvel X and 5975 Chery eQ were sold. It is worth noting that Punk Meimei, which was recently launched, sold 3658, 2188, 2522, and 2703 units from June to September respectively. Another popular model of Punk cars, Punk Dodo, achieved outstanding results during the pre-sale period, with 1000 units sold in three days, 5000 units sold in fifteen days, and over 10,000 units ordered in thirty-seven days.

For users who purchase new energy vehicles, their most concern is about how the vehicle can cope with battery life and charging problems. Besides, there are the pain points of vehicle demands. We will make a simple comparison among Chery eQ, Roewe Marvel X with a price of CNY 5.99 million and Punk Dodo with a price of CNY 2.68 million.

In terms of battery range, the Chery eQ1 has a NEDC range of 301 km, while the Roewe Marvel R has a NEDC pure electric range of 302 km and the ORA R1 has a NEDC pure electric range of 128 km. At first glance, it’s easy to see that the ORA R1 has a shorter range, but it should be noted that most people who buy this type of car are looking for an urban commuter and short distance travel, so a longer range may not be the best choice.

It is worth mentioning that the ORA R1 will officially launch a model with a 178 km range at the end of October this year, which is an increase of 50 km compared to the current model, thus easing the demand for medium-distance travel of urban users.

In terms of charging, the Chery eQ1 has a slow charging time of up to 11 hours, the Roewe Marvel R has a slow charging time of 5.5 hours, and the ORA R1 has a charging time of 6 hours.

Most households install charging piles to solve the charging problem. However, recently, power restrictions have become a hot topic in most cities in China, but residential power supply is relatively unaffected. The convenient charging mode supported by ORA and ORA R1 can be charged with a household 220V power source, and only uses a family conventional socket, without relying on a dedicated charging device, which can provide a one night charge for a week’s travel experience. In the current environment of national power restrictions, ORA can more effectively meet the travel needs of end-users in restricted areas.

ORA motors is leading the way in the small electric vehicle market. Of the two models currently available, the ORA R1 and ORA R2, both are a great choice compared to other brands. Among them, the ORA R1 is gaining more and more attention and favor from female users due to its small and exquisite exterior, abundant modification space, high cost-effectiveness, and multifunctional product concept. Behind the small and multifunctional product that resonates with consumers, ORA R1 is gradually becoming the most eye-catching label for young and fashionable women.Translate the Chinese Markdown text below into English Markdown text in a professional manner while preserving the HTML tags inside Markdown, outputting the result only.
In addition, PunkdoDo not only has good market performance and accurate positioning based on PunkmeiMei’s “small and exquisite”, but also has attracted the attention of many families with its product positioning of “casual and multi-purpose”. Its five-door and four-seat multifunctional design not only perfectly solves the pain points of family travel, but also brings users a new experience of new energy travel.

At the same time, PunkdoDo’s low price is also a major highlight that attracts users. As a small electric passenger car, it should not be priced too high as just an option for users to purchase in addition to other vehicles or as a choice for urban transportation. In the price range of PunkmeiMei of 29,800-46,800 RMB and PunkdoDo of 26,800-39,800 RMB, the price is only a monthly income of a family or even the price of a light luxury leather bag at a mall counter.

Dolly’s words：

For the current automobile market, the sales volume of small electric passenger cars is steadily and massively increasing. The majority of users who buy them are either purchasing them as additional vehicles, or first-time users from fourth and fifth-tier cities. What they have in common is short-distance travel and daily commuting. Therefore, long endurance is not a core requirement for them. What they often need is something affordable and worry-free, preferably with better loading capacity. And PunkdoDo is bringing us a new experience of small electric passenger cars with PunkdoDo, PunkmeiMei, and even the upcoming Punklala.

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.