The little shanzhai electric car engine that could
G.E. Anderson over at ChinaBizGov brings our attention to the shanzhai electric cars he discovered while in Baoding City, Hebei Province.
Anderson writes that these nondescript cars run on “an array of traditional lead-acid car batteries”, and with a minimum price tag of RMB 16,800 (not including sure-fire discounts), is highly affordable for someone needing a simple vehicle solely to get from point A to B within a small town.
Curious about how a shanzhai electric car moves? Click on the video for a spin around town with Anderson:
Does the video convince you that shanzhais are the future?
According to this report by Jimmy Wang, the seat of the shanzhai electric car revolution is located in Shandong Province, where the landscape of roads is drastically being changed with the proliferation of these affordable cars.
More technical info: the shanzhai can travel up to 120 kilometers on one charge, and be driven at a maximum speed of 55 kilometers per hour. A charge can easily be done overnight in a normal household outlet, taking six to eight hours. Also, they emit zero greenhouse gases. Who needs e-bikes when you can cocoon yourself and put around town in an adorable shanzhai?
Shanzhais currently occupy a legal gray area when it comes to central government policies — neither considered proper cars nor motorcycles, there are of course fervent debates about classification, licensing, and manufacturing issues, with no easy resolution in sight.
So, we won’t be seeing shanzhai electric cars on Yan’an elevated highway anytime soon… though at a maximum speed of 55 km/h, perhaps that’s a good thing.
Read more about shanzhai products in China here.
