China Car Times

Forget that electric milk float that the milkman used to drive on his morning rounds (perhaps only British people can appreciate that) electric vehicles have come a long, long way from the days of 2 pints of skimmed milk and 1 full cream.

American company Miles Automotive have come up with a range of electric vehicles that are both cheap, and can run a decent amount before they need recharging. The cars have been sourced from China by the looks of things (well actually Japanese, but hey!)

The first car that Miles Automotive have up for sale are slightly modified versions of the Diahatsu Move which is made into an electric variant by Tianjin Qingyuan Electric Company (all under license and legal of course!), who in turn are a subsidiary of Tianjin Xiali, owned by FAW - First Automotive Works who have a joint venture agreement with Toyota, hence the Diahatsu Move relationship.

The basic Miles Automotive model, the ZX40, comes equipped with a 5.6 horse power engine which produces a super powerful top speed of 25mph. The ZX40 can go for 40 miles before it needs recharging so it really isnt a bad idea for inner city travel, although I’m sure you will get cut up at every junction. The ZX40 is $14,800USD but you can only find it at one of the 4 Miles Dealerships in the USA. Theres even an off-road version for budding hippy ranchers.

Miles Automotives also have other some other interesting vehicle under wraps on their website, the XM200, and the XM500. Some people are saying that the XM500 (pictured above) is based off the Hafei Saibao III. What do you think ?