Visitors touch an electric car on the Shandong International Electric Car-bicycle and Spare Part Expo in Jinan, capital of Shandong Province. Sadly we didn’t go but we will next year because the expo looks like a lot of fun. Check logo in the back, a very neat copy of the Volvo logo, including the font and colors. The logo belongs to a company called ‘VIDOEV’, which is a subsidiary of the Shandong New Energy Automobile Corporation, which, confusingly, also runs a brand called ‘Wido’.
The Chinese-language website proudly shows the VIDOEV logo.
Strangely however, the English-language website does not, there only the Wido logo. But they got a link to this!:
A BMW i3 with a VIDOEV logo and a Chinese name. Looks good, and it is very cheap as well.
The company’s core business is making cheap electric cars based on the Chery QQ3 and JAC BenBen. Making electric vehicles based on existing cars is very common in China. The EV company basically buys the whole vehicle minus the petrol engine, then adds the electric power train, changes a very details here and there, and job done.
This is the new car, with VIDOEV logo. It is a small electric SUV called ‘S-series’, which is the same name as they put on that BMW i3. On their website the SUV is called ‘SUV’, and the misty photos show the vehicle with the Wido logo. Sadly no specs but this kinda car from this kinda company usually runs on very simple stuff, packing huge batteries and max 20 horsepower.
The S-series is police livery. Actually not a bad looking thing.
They also showed this interesting V-Series concept car.
Will Geely sue..?
Shandong, the mini EV capital of China. Truly amazing to see the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in this province. There are too many mini EV makers to even count.
They have taken the 863 mandate seriously, and run with it. The object of a lot of skepticism and criticism, they just forge ahead, and I think they deserve a lot of credit for doing so. It’s true most of them will fade away, like the early automakers in the West, at the turn of the century, but I’d bet some will prevail, and spawn some products that will surprise us.
Thanks Tycho, for the heads up about what’s happening on the fringes.