Roewe E1 or possibly MG 1 seen road testing

Spy Shots | Ash | December 30, 2011 at 4:54 pm

The Roewe E1 electric vehicle concept was unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show in 2011, however since then the car has remained largely at the concept stage like nearly every other Chinese made EV, however the EV1 has been seen out testing on a number of occasions, each time the E1 has been sporting an MG steering wheel which leads us to speculate that this could be the future MG1.

In the UK, just over a 1000 electric cars were bought in 2011, which is a greater no of electric cars that were bought and sold in China during 2011, so it seems there is a greater (if still miniscule) demand for electric cars in the West than the world’s largest car market. The Chinese EV market is bound to take off in the near future, although when that future is nobody is quite yet sure.

The E1 concept was developed around a ‘one box’ idea, i.e. a hatchback. The E1′s electric drive chain is good for a top speed of 120kph and a maximum traveling distance of 120km on a single charge. 0-100kph is hardly exhilarating, the E1 can do it in a lethargic 16 seconds.

When will see it? Perhaps a Beijing Auto Show launch of something approaching production stage will be shown in April 2012.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.