10.GW ORA R1 / Black Cat
The beginning of 2020 can hardly be called favorable for the automotive industry, but the second half of it became just a celebration of records for electric vehicles. The last three months have been especially fruitful; in one December, more than half a million sales were recorded in different countries.
According to the owner of EV-sales, this has not been the case since 2011. Not only that, the brilliant December sales actually drove 2020 ahead of 2019 in electric car sales with an impressive 41%.
And the product of the Chinese automobile company Great Wall Motors contributed to this. It is a small urban car with a wheelbase of 2475 mm and a length of 3.5 meters. Its updated version was presented at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2019.
The Ora Black Cat comes with 48 hp electric motors. and 61 hp. Basic version with 48 hp motor. equipped with a 28.5 kWh or 33 kWh battery.
The strongest “black cat” with a 61 hp engine. With. received a battery with a capacity of 37 kW / h. This is enough for 450 km of the NEDC cycle. The maximum speed is 102 km / h.
- Baojun E-Series
Small city cars are very popular in China. Both the GW ORA R1 and Baojun E-Series, and the Chinese electric car maker Wuling HongGuang Mini EV belong to this class.
Among Europeans, only the Fiat 500e can compete with them, which, however, plays on a different, more premium-oriented field.
Baojun E-Series 200 is a very small car, only two seats, and its body is 2.5 meters long. The electric motor for such a crumb is also small – with a capacity of only 39 “horses”, and the battery will last for 210 kilometers. But this is not bad either, because version 100 was even smaller – 2488 mm long, and was not particularly popular in its native country.
There is also a long-wheelbase version of the car (2625 mm), it has a three-seater cabin, with the only rear seat on the right, and the front passenger seat can be moved forward as much as possible.
Finally, the top-end Baojun E300 Plus boasts a four-seater cabin and a length of 2894 mm. The E300 and E300 Plus have the same electric motor – 54 hp. and 150 Nm. But the traction batteries are different – for 30 kW / h and 31.9 kW / h, respectively.
- Audi e-Tron
This is the only representative of the E / F segment in the ranking of the most popular electric vehicles (somewhere between the business class and the executive class).
He has a variable ground clearance, instead of the banal side mirrors – fashionable video cameras (at least in the Japanese version), on each axis by an electric motor with a capacity of 360 “horses”. On one battery with a capacity of 95 kW / h, a car can cover 400 km.
- Nissan Leaf
The Nissan Leaf was once a top electric car – since 2011, this car has become the world’s best-selling green car four times (in 2011, 2014, 2014 and 2016), and seven times entered the honorable top 10.
But the glory is fading, and now the Nissan Leaf is in a modest seventh place. While the electric car market is booming, the Japanese car is slowly but surely declining as its sales are down 19% from 2019.
It went on sale back in 2010, three years later it received a restyling, and in 2017 it updated the generation. The lithium battery of this five-door hatchback in the updated version will last for 378 km, and the maximum speed of the car is 144 km
- VW ID.3
Surprisingly, in November 2020, the German electric car was only in 19th place in the top sales of electric vehicles.
However, in December, a miracle happened – sales of VW ID.3 surged upward, losing only to the recognized leader of the industry Tesla Model 3 and the Chinese miracle Wuling HongGuang Mini EV.
Together with Nissan Leaf, VW ID.3 are the only representatives of the “golf class” in the rating of electric cars. The interior of the five-door hatchback is truly laconic: only the steering wheel, touch buttons and a media system with a large screen and voice control.
The car is equipped with electric motors with a capacity of 145 or 204 “horses”, and on a battery charge it is capable of overcoming 550 km.
- Hyundai Kona EV
This compact front-wheel drive Korean belongs to the small crossover segment of the B-SUV class.
Hyundai Kona EV is available in two versions:
Basic, with 135 hp. and 395 Nm. The 39.2 kWh battery will last for 300 km of the WLTP cycle, and the car charges completely from a regular outlet for 6 hours 10 minutes. The car accelerates to 100 km / h in 9.3 seconds, and its maximum speed is 167 km / h.
Reinforced version with 204 hp. and 395 Nm. Her battery is also more powerful – 64 kW / h, it is enough for 470 km of run. And from a normal charge, you will have to charge almost 10 hours.
- Tesla Model Y
Tesla Model Y started briskly – according to the results of 2020 sales, it got the fourth place, and after all, the model entered the market only in March last year! This is a medium-sized crossover, large, spacious and roomy, it has a five-door body, and the third row of seats can be additionally shoved inside.
In the two initial trim levels, the car has only one electric motor and rear-wheel drive, there are also more expensive options (Long Range and Performance) – with four-wheel drive and two electric motors.
On a single charge, the car, depending on the configuration, can stretch from 370 km to 480 km, and the maximum speed is from 190 to 240 km / h.
- Renault Zoe
For the first time, the French electric car entered the top three – this in itself says a lot about the eco-friendly car market in the country of baguettes and berets.
But this model appeared a long time ago – in 2012. In 2019, the car received a small facelift, a completely new interior, and some more modern electronic systems (such as driver assistance, a 10-inch dashboard with customizable graphics and a 9.3-inch touchscreen Easy Link media system) were added.
The engines were also replaced – previously they were only 88 or 92 “horses”, and now 108 hp. (and 225 Nm) and 135 hp (245 Nm). The second variation of the engine accelerates to 140 km / h, while the basic version accelerates to 135 km / h.
In the 2019 version, the battery capacity has also changed – from 41 to 52 kWh. This made it possible to increase the cruising range from 317 to 390 km in the WLTP cycle.
- Wuling HongGuang Mini EV
In second place in the list of the best-selling electric cars in the world is the Chinese novelty – Wuling HongGuang Mini EV. At home, it confidently overtook its competitor, the Baojun E-Series, and also performed well against the background of such heavyweights as the Tesla Model Y and VW ID.3.
True, to catch up with the first place in the rating, a beginner will have to try hard. So far, Tesla Model 3 sales outnumber Wuling HongGuang Mini EV by almost three times. However, the results of the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV can be looked at with different eyes, given that this car (like two other Chinese mini-electric cars) is sold exclusively in China. Can you imagine what would have happened if this Chinese man was sold in other countries?
SAUC-GM-Wuling has set itself the goal of creating a small city electric car that is affordable for everyone. The resulting car is truly tiny, a little less than three meters long, and four average body conditions can fit into the cabin. An electric motor with a capacity of 20 kW allows the baby to reach a maximum speed of only 100 km, and the power of a battery with a capacity of 9.2 or 13.8 kW / h to choose from will be enough for a maximum of 120-170 km of run.
- Tesla Model 3
For the third year in a row, Tesla Model 3 has become the winner of the rating of the most popular electric vehicles. And it seems that no real competitors are foreseen for her.
A little more, and Tesla Model 3 will catch up with Nissan Leaf in terms of the number of sales achievements! Not bad for a car that started production back in 2017 and is sold almost exclusively in the US and Europe.
It is a minimalist sedan with a swanky infotainment system, rear-wheel drive and a 65 to 75 kWh battery, depending on configuration. And the updated model of the 2021 model year received a battery of increased capacity – 82 kW / h with support for ultra-fast charging, and is capable of traveling up to 568 km on a single charge (according to the American EPA measuring cycle).