Mini Cooper from Beijing, but Not the One We Are Used To
Once I got off the high-speed train that took me from Shanghai to Beijing in just over three hours, I found myself in a world of microcars.
Well, honestly, Beijing is completely different from Shanghai. There are fewer foreigners and every corner is literally soaked in the spirit of capitalism.
Also, there’s an unbelievable variety of microcars. I’ll show you some of them, but first I want to tell you about this thing!
When I saw this thing, something flipped in my head. It looked like a Mini Countyman, but it was too small.
As I later checked on the Internet, this thing is called the Today Sunshine Mine M1. God, that’s the dumbest name I could think of. The Chinese version of the name is Jinri Yangguan. This brand belongs to the Zhejiang Sunshine New Energy Vehicle Industry Corporation.
It is obvious that this minicar has nothing to do with Mini. Except for maybe a cheeky borrowing of styling.
It was shown in 2017 at the Jinan EV Show. Interestingly, there is a two-door version with a very short wheelbase or a four-door four-seat version.
The M1 is available in different versions. The cheapest versions come with lead-acid batteries, while the more expensive ones have lithium-ion batteries.
There are also various electric motors with capacities from 4 to 15 hp. The speed in the version with the lead battery is 40 km/h, with the lithium-ion — 60 km/h.
Unfortunately, for some reason I didn’t take a picture of the interior of this baby, so I’ll borrow a picture from the CarNewsChina website.
The interior is not so bad. There is a climate control system, two-speaker multimedia system with a large screen, three-spoke steering wheel and even a full instrument panel.