Wuling launched the Youth Edition of the Hongguang Mini EV on August 20, priced at 40,800 yuan (5,700 USD). It is a 215 km range version of the micro EV sensation and, despite its name, has many more grown-up car features than the bare-bones Mini EV that first launched in 2020. Most noteworthy features are that the Youth Edition comes with fast charging ability and dual airbags.
Being the Hongguang Mini EV, the car comes in a choice of 5 funky color schemes: milk apricot coffee, light mango yellow, avocado green, white peach pink, and iris blue. These are then highlighted by features such as the white around the headlights, number plate, and parts of the rear, along with the black B and C-pillars and Mirrors.
There is a choice of two interior color schemes: milk toffee and brownie black. Rather than being sickly sweet, they are more retro, and the seats have houndstooth-textured fabric, which makes the car look rather like a 1970s reject. Other than the aesthetics, there are no major changes to the interior of the car, with the Mini EV retaining just a driver’s display unit. One notable feature is that the youth edition has a dual airbag setup, where both the driver and front passenger have airbags.
Also featured on the Youth Edition is fast charging. This was first introduced to the Mini EV on the 2024 model year Macron version at the end of last year. Being the 215 km (see specs) range version of the Mini EV, the car comes with a 17.3 kWh battery pack. Fast charging allows it to charge from 30 to 80% SOC in 35 minutes. The fast charging port is located alongside the slow charging port behind a flap in the front grille of the car.
The Youth Edition of the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV uses a 30 kW rear-mounted electric motor that delivers up to 92 Nm of torque. Maximum speed is still capped at 100 km/h, and there is no quoted time for actually getting up to that speed.
Dimensions of the Youth Edition remain largely unchanged at 3064, 1493, and 1614 mm (l/w/h), with a wheelbase of 2010 mm. It should be noted, however, that the height is slightly lower than the 1629 mm of other 2024 versions of the car.
Sources: Autohome, Fast Technology