Ah yes, good ol’ Alibaba. It’s the place to go whenever you want to see just how weird and wild the world of Chinese electric vehicles has become. It’s all fun and games to laugh and enjoy the weirdness, though it’s important to remember that China actually leads the world in real electric vehicles, too. But we’re not here for those boring things. We’re here to see a full-size bug-eyed electric bus shaped like a fish, and at the cost of a couple car payments in the US.
That’s right, the beauty that has become the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week is a Finding Nemo-inspired (copied?) electric bus!
At 920 kg (2,090 lb), this 14-seater weighs less than almost any two-seater out there. I guess there just isn’t much to it other than a ladder frame, some orange plastic body panels, and a battery bank. When you don’t need to worry about doors or crumples zones, I guess you can save a few pounds. But then again, it’s only 4.7 meters (15 feet) long, so it would actually fit in the same parking space as most family cars.
The seller seems to be playing rather coy with some of the most important specs, such as the power and speed. But having been around the Alibaba block a time or two (in some weird vehicles, I might add), I can pretty much guarantee you this bus is rocking a 4 kW or less motor and tops out at no more than 20-ish mph (32 km/h).
But hey, that’s fine by me. When you’ve got a bus that looks this good, you don’t want to speed around in it. You want to take your time and cruise by slowly enough that onlookers can get a real good look. What’s the point in having an extra 13 seats if not for picking up chicks along the way?
The truly crazy thing here though isn’t just how cool this bus looks, or even the fine line they’re dancing across with the whole Nemo design thing. It’s the price.
If you’re prepared to shell out for more than one of these buses, the price is just US $3,590! Buying a single unit as a sample carries a much higher price, to the tune of $9,980. At that price, you might as well buy two and spend less cash!
Top comment by Michael
These types of vehicles are all over the touristy areas here (Romania) acting as tour buses, they replaced mini trains pulled by small diesel farm tractors that were terribly polluting and loud.
I'm really happy with them, they're almost completely silent and emission free. They're even a bit faster and with better acceleration than the diesel monstrosities of before.
Of course, then you’ve got to pay for a larger 40 ft shipping container. And then there’s the small wrinkle of not being allowed to bring any number of these into the US due to them not being street-legal. But hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?!
Just a small disclaimer: As usual, please keep in mind that these Alibaba dumpster-diving posts are meant to be taken in good fun, not as advice to actually try to buy one of these wild vehicles.
I have no idea if the factory even truly makes these, or whether they just rolled four awesome buses off the line and snapped pics. Then there’s no guarantee that you won’t spend more on importing costs than the entire cost of the vehicle. In fact, I can almost guarantee you the importing costs are twice the cost of the vehicle – at a minimum. And as I mentioned, you’re not allowed to even bring these into most countries anyway.
So let’s just enjoy this beautiful bus from the safe distance of the internet, shall we?
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