Chinese electric Exige

[otolith]

Interesting.



MX-5 sized, 1365kg / 430bhp / £31k in China

Why is nobody doing this outside China?

[Mr E]

otolith said:

Why is nobody doing this outside China?

At a guess, because they’re not prepared to take a massive loss on a niche market for the sake of a few headlines.

[otolith]

Mr E said:

At a guess, because they’re not prepared to take a massive loss on a niche market for the sake of a few headlines.

Perhaps so, though it’s a small, basic, spaceframe & fibreglass sports car using commodity hardware - we used to have a bunch of cottage industries building such things, and still have a few.

[768]

There's a lot to like about that.

otolith said:

Why is nobody doing this outside China?

I doubt anyone else has both the tech and the ability to get anywhere near that price point.

[otolith]

768 said:

I doubt anyone else has both the tech and the ability to get anywhere near that price point.

Price point would definitely be difficult, cars are generally cheaper in China. EV drivetrain components must surely be getting cheaper in the West, though?

[Screechmr2]

don't the chinese goverment heavily sudsidise the cars, hence why they can be cheaper?

[Evanivitch]

otolith said:

Interesting.


MX-5 sized, 1365kg / 430bhp / £31k in China

Why is nobody doing this outside China?

MG Cyberster sales have been rather muted.

[OutInTheShed]

It's easy to get down to that weight, by not putting much battery in there.

[otolith]

Screechmr2 said:

don't the chinese goverment heavily sudsidise the cars, hence why they can be cheaper?

That’s the allegation, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. They incentivise EV purchase for their domestic market with tax breaks, and exemptions to restrictions on car ownership, but they also set an industrial strategy to grow their EV industry about 20 years ago. That gave tax breaks to companies investing in EV technology, which is how they grew the supply chain to the point that it’s now cheap and efficient. By forcing the domestic EV market they have created an environment in which their EV suppliers can prosper and out compete producers in countries where manufacturers invested in ICE instead.

[kambites]

Screechmr2 said:

don't the chinese goverment heavily sudsidise the cars, hence why they can be cheaper?

All major automotive manufacturers are subsidised by governments to a pretty large degree.

Regarding European equivalents, it doesn't look a million miles off the Caterham Project V on principle.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 17th May 19:44

[kambites]

Evanivitch said:

MG Cyberster sales have been rather muted.

Have they been really bad? I've not seen any real figures for the Cyberster yet.

I seem to see a fair few around here but nowhere near as many as the more mainstream MGs.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 17th May 19:49

[TheDrownedApe]

NCAP have a bearing on this?

QC and warranty?

I imagine plenty of reasons why this isnt in Europe

[Evanivitch]

kambites said:

Have they been really bad? I've not seen any real figures for the Cyberster yet.

I seem to see a fair few around here but nowhere near as many as the more mainstream MGs.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 17th May 19:49

I can't say I've seen many in the wild, and there seems a lot of autotrader with low miles. Interestingly, not appearing on HowManyLeft.

[Terminator X]

Mr E said:

otolith said:

Why is nobody doing this outside China?

At a guess, because they’re not prepared to take a massive loss on a niche market for the sake of a few headlines.

Also slave labour.

TX.

[NDNDNDND]

Terminator X said:

Mr E said:

otolith said:

Why is nobody doing this outside China?

At a guess, because they’re not prepared to take a massive loss on a niche market for the sake of a few headlines.

Also slave labour.

TX.

Yeah, it's not exactly a level playing field.

I think we should take a leaf out of their book and enslave the gypsies, personally.

[kambites]

TheDrownedApe said:

NCAP have a bearing on this?

QC and warranty?

I can't imagine any of those things being worse than my Elise.

[otolith]

kambites said:

I can't imagine any of those things being worse than my Elise.

Not sure I would want to crash a Caterham either.

[Europa Jon]

kambites said:

I can't imagine any of those things being worse than my Elise.

The Elise comparisons are bound the crop up, along with 'Lotus should be doing this'.
Along with the crash test comments, the final Elises weren't exactly cheap, and EVs are notoriously still more expensive to make than ICE equivalents.
The first 'affordable' Western 2-seater battery sports car will certainly get lots of attention. It's a big gamble that nobody seems prepared to take at present.

[NDNDNDND]

I think this looks a bit more interesting:



Unlike that rather derivative thing in the OP, the TELO actually explores what's possible with an EV architecture.

...including hoonage.

[RotorRambler]

kambites said:

Evanivitch said:

MG Cyberster sales have been rather muted.

Have they been really bad? I've not seen any real figures for the Cyberster yet.

I seem to see a fair few around here but nowhere near as many as the more mainstream MGs.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 17th May 19:49

“ In the UK, MG has sold just over 300 units of the Cyberster since its late 2024 launch. However, the company emphasizes that the Cyberster serves more as a “halo car” to showcase MG’s capabilities rather than as a volume seller. David Allison of MG UK highlighted that the vehicle is about demonstrating what the brand can achieve, rather than driving significant sales”