• GM says it sold more than 87,000 Wuling Hongguang Mini EVs in China for Q1 2025.
• By comparison, GM sold 31,612 EVs in the US during the same time period.
• The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV is part of SGMW, which is a partnership between SAIC, Wuling and GM’s China operations.

It’s funny how statistics and numbers work out. This week we wrote about how General Motors’ EV sales have continued to take off in the United States. The Blazer and Equinox EVs are certainly enjoying big gains for Q1. But in China, things are down and still looking a little grim for the conglomerate’s once-shining Chinese operation.

Yet, if we ignore the actual growth or shrinking percentages and just look at sheer numbers, the story is different. GM’s best-selling EV isn’t anything based on the Ultium platform. It’s the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV.

For Q1, GM sold a whopping 87,000 examples of this vehicle, or more than twice all of GM’s EVs sold in the U.S. combined. For more context, GM sold 114,432 electric vehicles in the U.S. in 2024; compare that to what this car can do in one quarter and you get a real sense of where China is at these days. 

The Hongguang Mini EV has been a strong seller in China since its inception. It’s had a couple of updates along the way, including a swanky convertible model. But for this year, the Hongguang Mini EV got a complete makeover.

Gone are the pseudo-kei car boxy styling, and in its place is a more rounded design. This car is bigger in every direction, has more power and more safety equipment. It even grew a second set of doors and gained the ability to DC fast charge, nabbing those pesky buyers who can’t afford a BYD Seagull.

Of course, it’s still very slow and barely a freeway-capable vehicle. The YouTube channel Telescope drove one during a media event in January and admitted the thing runs out of steam at its 62 mph (100 km/h) top speed. But as a whole, there’s been a significant step up in quality and comfort for GM’s tiniest little car.

Thus, the price is a lot higher too, as it is now about $6,200, or double the headline breaking roughly $3,000 price outlets would report on a few years back. This is still a lot cheaper than the $9,000 price of a BYD Seagull, though. Still, the updates and price increase were enough to grab half of the 87,000 units sold, according to GM. 

The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV will likely never venture outside of China. However, its popularity proves one thing: the way to get a popular EV is to make it affordable. The Equinox EV may not be on the same level of nearly micro-mobility as the Hongguang mini EV, but the fact that uts leading GM’s U.S. EV sales charts tells me that affordability might be the biggest road block to EV adoption.

Contact the author: [email protected]