Weird Alibaba: A fun little electric jeep-like Chinese knock-off that I need in my life
I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted a vehicle more than the latest entry in the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column. That’s because this week we’re checking out a Chinese knock-off of an iconic little open-air buggy: the Mini Moke!
It may be small, but this 100 km/h (62 mph) fun-mobile would be a blast around the city or cruising to the beach.
Just a little background to get us started: The Mini Moke is a quirky and iconic vehicle with an interesting history dating back to the late 1950s. The British-made Moke was initially intended for military use as a lightweight, air-transportable utility vehicle.
However, it should come as no surprise that its small wheels and low ground clearance made it, well, less than effective for rough terrain. The British Army ultimately rejected the design. But after its military discharge, the Mini Moke found a new life as a civilian vehicle.
The fun little jeep-like runabout’s minimalist design with a simple open-top body, a small engine, and basic components shared with the classic Mini (created by the same designer) made it an affordable and popular choice for consumers in beach areas.
Over the years, the Mini Moke became synonymous with sun-soaked beach vacations and carefree driving. It has been produced around the world under various licenses, with its popularity peaking in the 80’s and 90’s followed by a steady decline ever since.
Lately though we’ve seen a resurgence of interest in Mokes, especially electric versions that don’t require the same level of maintenance as a small-engine classic Moke. There’s currently a trademark dispute raging between two manufacturers, the British company MOKE International (who claims to be the rightful owner of the original Moke trademark), and MOKE America, a Florida-based company who also produces Moke-style EVs.
Apparently China has seen these other countries trying to horn in on its intellectual property infringement shtick and said “hold my baijiu!” while they worked up their own Moke electric vehicle. And that’s what we see before us today, a Chinese Moke in all its tiny-wheeled glory.
But here’s the thing. Believe it or not, I think the Chinese might have done it even better. You see, the US version of the Moke is a Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) that is limited to 25 mph (40 km/h). The British version hits twice that speed at 50 mph (80 km/h). But this Chinese version gets up to a whopping 62 mph (100 km/h)!
To be fair, that 62 mph is listed as the vehicle’s “max speed”, and there’s another “economical speed” listed at 31 mph (50 km/h). I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I assume they’re saying that while it can reach highway speeds, don’t be surprised if the batteries drain quicker than a lace bucket.
It’s unclear what the true range is, but the vehicle has a 21 kWh li-ion battery, so a city range of well over 100 miles (160 km) sounds within reason. To put that into perspective, the first generation Nissan Leaf came with a 24 kWh battery and had a city range of around 100 miles on a much heavier vehicle.
Speaking of which, this Chinese Moke weighs just 765 kg (1,686 lb). And it’s a four-seater with four-wheel-drive thanks to a pair of 10 kW motors. All told, that’s 20 kW or 27 hp, which isn’t bad for a small vehicle like this.
The only kicker is the price. At US $12,000 a pop, these are not cheap little EVs. You could get a street legal electric microcar in the US for that price, which brings up another point. These Chinese Mokes are certainly not street legal, so you’d be limited to cruising around off-road – which is the very use that the British army rejected them for so many decades ago. Though the nice gentleman with the robotic voice in the marketing video below seems to think they’d be legal in Europe.
Hmmm, I might just have to sit this one out, which is a bummer since an electric Moke would be an awesome vehicle.
Oh well, maybe I’ll find something more in my budget next week!
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Tesla average transaction prices (ATPs) in March are estimated at $54,582, higher year-over-year by 3.5% and higher than in February, according to the latest monthly new-vehicle ATP report from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book.
Average transaction prices for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y were higher month-over-month and year-over-year in March. Tesla’s sales in Q1 continued their long-term decline after peaking in Q1 2023. Estimates from Kelley Blue Book suggest Tesla’s sales in Q1 2025 were lower year-over-year by more than 8%. Its deliveries were also worse than expected.
New EV prices in March overall are initially estimated by Kelley Blue Book to be $59,205, higher year-over-year by 7.0%. New EV prices increased from the revised higher February ATP of $57,015.
The ATP for an EV last month was nearly 25% higher than the industry average of $47,462, widening the price gap between new EVs and gas-powered cars even more.
But EVs are still seeing heftier incentives than the industry average. In March, the average EV incentive came in at 13.3% of the transaction price – down 1% from February’s revised 14.3% but still well above what gas cars are getting.
So, where are we heading? Higher prices, thanks to Trump’s tariffs. But what that will look like remains to be seen. Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, said, “All signs point to higher prices this summer, as existing ‘pre-tariff’ inventory is sold down to be eventually replaced with ‘tariffed’ inventory. How high prices rise for consumers is still very much to be determined, as each automaker will handle the price puzzle differently.”
Read more: EV incentives surged to 14.8% of ATP in Feb – highest in 5+ years
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BYD just launched the first EVs based on its new Super e-platform with ultra-fast charging. The new Han L sedan and Tang L SUV can gain nearly 250 miles range in 5 minutes, and prices start at just $30,000.
Meet BYD’s new EVs with ultra-fast charging
During a launch event on April 9, BYD introduced the new EV models, claiming its engineers have “achieved the master realm of Chinese technology.”
The Han L and Tang L are the first EVs based on BYD’s 1000V Super e-platform. After unveiling the ultra-fast EV charging platform last month, BYD’s CEO, Wang Chuanfu, said to ease charging anxiety, “The ultimate solution is to make charging as quick as refueling a gasoline car.”
That solution is now here. BYD’s new Han L is available in three trims, starting at just 219,800 yuan ($30,000), lower than the pre-sale price of 270,000 yuan ($36,800).
BYD’s new electric sedan is 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall, or about the size of a Tesla Model S (5,021 mm long, 1,987 mm wide, and 1,431 mm tall).
All variants are powered by an 83.2 kWh BYD Blade battery, providing up to 435 miles (701 km) of CLTC driving range. Based on BYD’s 1,000V architecture, the Han L comes with two charge guns with an up to 10C charge rate.
Nearly 250 miles in just 5 minutes?
With ultra-fast charging, the electric sedan can gain 400 km (248 miles) in just five minutes. In six minutes, it can recharge from 10% to 70%, and in just 20 minutes, it can fully recharge (0% to 100%) the battery.
Like all its new EV models, the Han L is equipped with BYD’s God’s Eye smart driving assist system. It features the mid-tier “B” version and DiPilot 300.
BYD’s new electric SUV, the Tang L, is also offered in three trims. It starts at 239,800 yuan ($32,700), also below the pre-sale price of 280,000 yuan ($38,200).
The Tang L is also based on BYD’s 1,000V architecture and ultra-fast charging platform. Powered by a 100.5 kWh battery, it has a CLTC range of up to 435 miles (701 km) and can gain 230 miles (370 km) in 5 minutes. It will take about 30 minutes to go from 0% to 100%.
BYD’s electric SUV is 5,040 mm long, 1996 mm wide, and 1,760 mm tall, or slightly bigger than the new Tesla Model Y Juniper in China (4,797 mm long, 1,920 mm wide, and 1,624 mm tall).
Like the Han L EV, the electric SUV has BYD’s God’s Eye B ADAS system with DiPilot 300. Both the Han L and Tang are available as PHEVs, starting at 209,800 yuan ($28,500) and 229,800 yuan ($31,300).
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The fintech sector is rallying Wednesday following the Trump administration’s announcement of a 90-day pause on planned tariffs.
Affirm was up 20%, Toast and Block rose 13% and PayPal increased 10%.
The 90-day pause doesn’t eliminate the threat of tariffs — it just delays it. Investors are still pricing in risk, including inflation, discretionary pullbacks, hardware import costs and credit exposure.
Legacy payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard, both up 6%, continue to benefit from inflation and their structural ties to nominal GDP. These companies take a percentage of every transaction. That makes rising prices a tailwind.
“If prices are moving up for certain goods and you’re paying with a credit card, it’s actually good for the credit card companies,” said Dan Dolev, a fintech analyst at Mizuho.
Their pricing structure has historically made them resilient during inflationary periods, including recessions. The situation is less rosy for the new wave of consumer lending fintechs.
Affirm, which specializes in allowing consumers to buy now and pay later, could suffer if consumers pull back spending when the pause is lifted as a result of tariffs causing prices to rise. The San Francisco-based company could see its revenue less transaction costs margins — essentially what the company pockets after paying processing fees and customer incentives — drop more than 22% in that scenario, according to a Goldman Sachs estimate on Tuesday.
The adoption of buy now, pay later may rise as consumers hit credit limits, said SIG analyst James Friedman, but he added that the model remains untested in a downturn.
Toast, Block and Fiserv, which was up 6%, develop software used by restaurants and small businesses. Those companies could face rising hardware costs and softening demand from customers if the tariffs go through.
Meanwhile, cross-border payments — one of the most profitable segments for Visa, Mastercard and PayPal — remain under pressure as global travel slows and e-commerce flows adjust to the uncertainties of Trump’s tariffs.
Even remittance players such as Remitly and Western Union, both up 8%, could face longer-term pain if immigration pipelines slow or remittance corridors tighten under regulatory scrutiny. Similar to cross-border commerce, remittances depend on a steady flow of people and transactions, both of which remain fragile.
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