Here's a review by Fully Charged.
At about time pointer 4:00 minutes we learn this machine will deliver 100 km using 8.1 kwh. My math suggests 7.67 miles per kwh. That's pretty stinking close to 10 miles per kwh and comfortably twice what many EVs are delivering today. Okay. It's a tinser but it's still a two passenger automobile.
Thanks for posting this. Good to keep an eye on the low end of the market.
One thing I wanted to mention: This car's efficiency rating is using a different test cycle than the one used by the EPA for cars sold in the US. The EPA test cycle combines combines city and highway driving speeds. So we can't directly compare them. Since this is a city car, I expect that none of the miles driven on their test cycle are at highway speed. (But I don't really know.)
If the Aptera was measured on this same city driving test cycle, I'm sure it would rate well over 10 miles per KWH even though it's bigger, heavier, goes much further and faster, and is safer in crashes. On the other hand, our Aptera only seats 2 and costs over 4X as much.
Really the Aptera and the Wuling Mini EV represent quite different market segments. The world needs both.
Room for FOUR passengers!
YES I WOULD!
This is the second best selling EV in the world. after being on the market less than one calendar year. Meant as a mass market urban transport suitable for the Chinese market. Four seas, decent range for urban environments and amazing low price! Next target market, Europe with similar environment for EVs.
Unfortunately would not come close to meeting US Safety standards. 😥
I feel it illustrates, if this video and Wikipedia are true, that 10 miles per kilowatt isn't as questionable as some may have suggested.
Weighing in at almost 1500 pounds certainly helps with the 7.7 miles per kilowatt. The top speed of slightly over 60 miles per hour does have it in the real beginning of aerodynamic impact but Wuling doesn't look to be too concerned about that part of the equation to super efficiency.
It looks to be a real urban transporter that I just don't see in our market yet. Where are Club Car, EZ Go and the other golf car manufacturers? They know the market is available because of their retirement areas dominance. Are they just going to wait for Wuling and Citroen to waltz in and take this market like the big three did with small economical automobiles back in the seventies?
I think a good many of us are also very interested in the road trips of yesteryear in an electric with decent range. You know; I might just be more excited today than when I put my order in.
That range per kWh does help illustrate the efficiency hit incurred by sticking with a conventional, all metal, full size car body fitted with an extra large, extended range battery. Weeding even just a few of those features out can make a significant difference.
Aptera’s deliberate exclusion of as many of those anachronisms as possible and the results that we expect to see are not so hard to imagine, but will be extraordinary nonetheless.