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Mexico Just Showed Off a New Extremely Cheap, Government-Backed EV (gizmodo.com)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by schizoidman@lemmy.zip to c/electricvehicles@slrpnk.net

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The Olinia Uno is a planned six-passenger car that can travel up to 125 kilometers (77 miles) on a single charge. It is expected to go on sale next summer for about 150,000 Mexican pesos or roughly $8,500, according to a press release.

The car is designed for urban settings and has a top speed of 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour.

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[–] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

Unsurprisingly, some U.S. lawmakers are already trying to stop those cars from coming over the border.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Rep. Haley Stevens recently introduced the Protecting America from Chinese Cars Act, which aims to ban connected cars built or designed in China, as well as other adversarial countries like Russia and Iran, from entering the U.S.

This is something Ford CEO Jim Farley called for earlier this year.

“We should not let them into our country,” Farley said during an appearance on Fox & Friends, according to Bloomberg. “Manufacturing is the heart and soul of our country, and for us to lose that to those exports would be devastating to our country.”

Capitalists and CEOs: It's not free market when I have to compete!

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 43 points 2 days ago (3 children)

It's a golf cart. But these have utility around Mexico city.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

“Manufacturing is the heart and soul of our country

Fucking what?

[–] TheWilliamist@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Yeah, I was wondering if he managed to say that with a straight face…

[–] dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago (3 children)

plastic engine oil pans.

I had to do a double-take. Holy crap you're not kidding. Considering that it's a feature of metal pans to deform (instead of cracking or breaking) when colliding with something, switching to a brittle material is just asinine. WTF, Ford?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago

Farley also told media there is a shortage of mechanics at car dealers making $120,000 a year. No flat rate Ford mechanic makes that.

Farley lies so much he should get into politics.

You can also find videos of Ford mechanics finding new vehicles with cobbled brackets because of parts shortages.

[–] Anivia@feddit.org 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I mean, it's not as bad as their timing belts running in oil

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[–] TheWilliamist@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Volkswagen has been doing that for a least a decade or more. I had a 2018 alltrack which had one. At least in that case there was another thick plastic skid plate covering it and other parts. The biggest PITA is the high probability of stripping the drain plug.

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[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 45 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

Mexico has 36M cars currently on the road. I would be more worried if I was an American selling into the Mexican market

Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Rep. Haley Stevens recently introduced the Protecting America from Chinese Cars Act, which aims to ban connected cars built or designed in China, as well as other adversarial countries like Russia and Iran, from entering the U.S.

Love a bipartisan commitment to bad economic policy

[–] MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 17 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

ban connected cars

Does that mean that unconnected Chinese cars are OK? Talk about a win-win... just pull the SIM / antenna.

[–] tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

"Protect us from Chinese cars", fuck these dipshits. Have they ever considered protecting us from crushing poverty or environmental collapse? "OH MUH GOD ITS A CHINA CAR!! TAKE COVER!!!"

[–] anzo@programming.dev 3 points 2 days ago

They are portecting "the economy", that is, elon musk 😅.. Lol.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

connected cars built or designed in China

Only the ones from China though. Every other car going forward will be "connected". That's not the thing they're worried about.

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 22 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Mexico is cool

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

Sheinbaum seems to be doing a pretty good job

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[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago (6 children)

Finally a good looking EV

Put a pop up camper top on it and I’ll take two

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 15 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Top speed of 31mph, and with a camper on top, it will be even a bit slower than that. 77 miles of range also isn't a lot for something you want to go camping in. If your campground is more than 38 miles from the nearest charger, you're just shit out of luck -- not to mention that your camper on top will also significantly reduce range...

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago

It sounds shitty and awesome and exactly what I want.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Can you fit fold out solar panels and a power station in it?

FTA:

It also has enough space to transport someone in a wheelchair and be charged using regular power outlets at home, with a plug similar to what you would use for a microwave or refrigerator.

So yes, and also, your power station doesn't even need a special EV charging port adapter, just an extension cord.

Yeah, top speed ain't high, but uh, just park, camp for a sunny day or two, recharge your car.

Infinite range at tortoise speeds, at least when the sun is out... which I hear is fairly often, in Mexico, and/or when most people would want to go on a vacation.

EDIT

https://www.merca20.com/mexico-launches-olinia-car-a-mini-electric-vehicle-for-6-people-it-will-cost-8500-usd/

Ok so from here, it has a 14.7 kWh battery, in the car.

So, roughly realistically, to fully recharge the battery from empty, in a single sunny day, you'd need something like 8 500W panels, or 10 400W panels, or 12 300W panels.

Or, if you assume 2 sunny days, half the panel count.

Now, that many solar panels + power station is probably about half as expensive as the car itself, but you absolutely could fit them into this thing, or just mount a rack on top and strap them down, fold them out when you're camped.

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[–] noodles@slrpnk.net 15 points 3 days ago

I wonder if this is being aimed at a replacement for the ubiquitous bocho, or original VW bug, that still dominates the intracity car fleets of the many smaller cities and towns in the mountains Central region. If it's rear wheel drive that's my guess, those things only ever go on nigh-vertical narrow cobblestone roads in dense urban environments so low range and slow speeds won't matter at all.

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago (10 children)

50 kmh isn't much, even for city driving.

[–] SharkWeek@lemmy.blahaj.zone 29 points 3 days ago (2 children)

It's plenty for most cities in the world.

I know in the US everyone's driving at 120mph through tight city streets while shooting children, but the rest of the world isn't like that.

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Hello from New Zealand.

[–] SharkWeek@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Hello from Vietnam.

So I guess New Zealand also like charging all over the place at speeds more likely to kill pedestrians?

TBH the only city I've been in where most of the traffic is at over 50mph is Singapore, and that wasn't a good thing.

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

So I guess New Zealand also like charging all over the place at speeds more likely to kill pedestrians?

Well yeah, but the reason I said it is that my city is on an isthmus and the easiest way to get from one side to the other is by highway.

[–] SharkWeek@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 days ago

ok, I'd say to try doing a typical journey including a bit of the highway, but cap your speed ... and see how much time difference it really makes.

Most people here are chilled about getting to work at 30-50kph, it's a mindset.

[–] chunes@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (4 children)

India?

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[–] miraclerandy@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago

My best guess is it will be part of their public transport system. As an example, in Mexico City they have small vans that run up and down a hill but spend most of their time at the base of the hill waiting to go back up. They could charge for a bit while they wait at the bottom.

[–] farmgineer@nord.pub 19 points 3 days ago (1 children)

That's more than enough speed in an urban area. Safety is more important than speed.

[–] Minnels@lemmy.zip 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Considering how.much people look at their phones instead of the road I think 30km/h should be the max in cities.

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[–] olafurp@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

50 is higher than most people can drive in a city because of traffic.

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[–] Professorozone@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I like it but if it only goes 31 mph, then it's not really a car. IMHO. People drive around in golf carts in my neighborhood all of the time. I'm pretty sure they're nearly the same thing.

[–] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Mexico (at least up north where I e been) has little neighborhoods like in the US, but they all have their own stores and stuff. Like a mini suburb in a subdivision.

31 mph would be plenty.

They also have a robust "microbus" economy. These are basically private individuals running little routes in the neighborhood and between them, to some of the bigger shops.

This vehicle could be well suited for this and the micros are as ancient as they are ubiquitous. It's a good little chunk of traffic. Of that's what they're targeting, then it strikes me as clever. Bunch of folks mostly running errands.

It'll be neat to see how it does.

[–] Professorozone@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

They remind me of Kei cars in Japan. Kind of the same principle. More than a golf cart, less than a car.

[–] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 days ago

It goes 50 kph, which is the speed limit in many cities. It's clearly aimed at people who need a city car and won't be taking it on the freeway.

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[–] Ixoid@aussie.zone 9 points 3 days ago

Sounds like terrorism to me. Another good reason for the US to invade and install a puppet. /s obviously. Fuck the USA.

[–] Zink@programming.dev 5 points 2 days ago (2 children)

The suburb where I live is closer to rural than urban, but I could totally see getting one of these for commuting and errands around town.

Just give me an upgraded $10K version that can do 50 mph instead of 50 km/h, because once I get to the end of my street I'm turning into traffic comprised of F-150s and Escalades already going faster than that (illegally).

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[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago (5 children)

But why?

The car is designed for urban settings and has a top speed of 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour.

It sounds like maybe a 25kWh battery? Why can't it have a real top speed like every other actual car?

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 22 points 3 days ago

Why can’t it have a real top speed like every other actual car?

They skimped out on safety and crumple zones in order to make it lighter and cheaper, but that makes it extremely unsafe at high speeds.

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