Light electric vehicles are great for utility work, where companies big and small are exploring replacing their conventional box trucks with smaller electric cargo vehicles. But what if you’re not some big or small company? What if you’re merely a dude who wants his own fun little electric cargo truck?
Well then you just may want to turn towards China’s busiest little shopping corner of the internet, where you can find wackiest and wildest electric vehicle assemblages this side of the Yangtze River. This week’s Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week may be right up your alley.
Anyone who follows my weekly treasure-hunt-turned-dumpster-dive into the Alibaba electric vehicle pages will know that I have a soft spot in my heart for weird electric trucks.
From airport-style flatbed electric trucks to my own little electric fire truck, I love finding what kind of oddball EVs I can actually buy for myself from halfway around the world.
Ok, yes… and sometimes I actually buy them.
This week’s submission for the latest funky EV from China probably won’t be earning a spot in my actual garage, but it has already rolled right into my heart, overshot the parking, dented a fender, and then parked at an angle with one wheel in a handicapped spot.
This 3 meter long (10 ft) little wonder buggy seems like the perfect way to haul you, one passenger and a ton of stuff around town. Or perhaps a half ton, as the rated load for the vehicle is just 500 kg (1,100 lb). Combined with the vehicle weight of 690 kg (1,520 lb), this thing might actually approach the mass of a real car when fully laden.
That 500 kg load capacity should be plenty for most of us, especially since the rear cargo box isn’t exactly bursting with extra storage space. It’s not half bad, though, as you’ve got 1.45 cubic meters (51 cubic feet) of storage back there. That’s fairly generous, but let’s just say that U-haul likely isn’t calling up China right now trying to get a few thousand of these on a boat to replace its aging box truck fleet.
Even so, this little trucklet looks like a great option for around-the-town utility stuff. You may not be able to move an apartment, but you sure could deliver plenty of sacks of dog food or potting soil!
And whatever you can’t fit inside the cargo box, you can always throw on top! The generous luggage rack opens the door to nearly limitless possibilities. The world is your oyster and the cargo space is bounded only by the confines of your imagination!
I love when Alibaba decks these things out with all the features so you don’t have to go adding your own accessories once the truck arrives.
In this case, they pulled out all the stops. You’ve got your writing board, your reflection radio (backup camera?), your luggage rack, your cab lighting and even tires!
There’s also an included fire extinguisher! At first I thought that was a pretty cool feature for them to include, but the more I thought about it, the more I worried about what that implies.
It kind of feels like if you bought a ladder and came with a trampoline to put under it. Maybe you should be looking for a higher quality ladder.
As far as power goes, this isn’t exactly a hot rod. You’re not going to be challenging any F150 Lightnings to a traffic light drag race.
Even so, you’ve got enough power to get up to a sprightly 40 km/h (25 km/h). On flat ground, that is. Hills might have a slight impact on your top speed.
What it lacks in speed, though, it makes up for in range. The 7 kWh battery is said to be good for 100-120 km of range (60-75 miles). That should be plenty for the around-the-town style driving that this little truck would be perfect for.
And at a price of just $4,000, you’d almost be crazy not to buy it! This thing would make a perfect addition to my collection of weird Chinese electric vehicles. Right? Right, honey? What’s that? Hmm, my wife is packing a suitcase. I better go check on that.
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