Want an electric zero-turn lawn mower for half the price? It’s here, sort of
There’s no form of wheeled transport, whether for recreation or utility use, that is safe from the sweeping wave of electrification. Those maintenance-prone, expensive and carcinogen-spewing combustion engines are on their way out in nearly every industry, not the least of which includes lawn-care. The only problem is that the larger and fancier zero-turn electric lawn mowers are usually pretty pricey when they go electric, at least until now.
As it turns out, you only have to go halfway around the world to find a half-priced zero-turn electric lawn mower.
That’s right, the featured vehicle in this week’s Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week is none other than a critical piece of lawn care gear for anyone with a decent-sized piece of sod.
Sure, most of the EVs featured in this column are on the wackier side of things, from the world’s smallest electric box truck to an inflatable electric jet ski.
But once in a while it’s fun to feature a more utility-focused ride, like the electric zero-turn lawn mower below.
It’s no Forest Gump Snapper (a lawn mower my dad had and which I have fond summertime mowing memories upon), but it’s a pretty slick looking design nonetheless.
A top speed of 7 mph (11.2 km/h) might take it a while to navigate a larger property, but the inclusion of english units of measure at least point to some export interest on the part of the manufacturer.
For power, the mower seems to have a pair of 1 kW motors and second pair of 1.5 kW motors, though I can’t quite understand the Mandarin spec sheet well enough to determine which are for the drive wheels and which are for the blades. I suspect the more powerful motors are for the blades.
The included 4.8 kWh LiFePO4 battery should give it quite a long run time while also assuaging any fears over fire safety.
And it even seems to be pretty powerful, at least based on the apparent whiplash injuries followed by the centrifugally-induced vertigo symptoms the model is surely suffering in the testing video below.
How expensive are electric zero-turn mowers?
Of course the thing you’re probably most wondering about is the price. Fair enough, here’s how it works.
The Alibaba vendor has it listed at US $3,800, though they kindly offer to knock off $50 from that price if you buy 30 or more mowers. Ah yes, the old “buy 75 and I’ll give you the 76th one for free” trick.
In all seriousness, though, that’s a pretty killer price. John Deere just dropped an electric zero-turn mower at nearly twice as much.
And believe it or not, this Chinese zero-turn e-mower actually has a 50% larger battery pack. Of course the quality probably won’t compare to John Deere, but at least they won’t prevent you from repairing your machine.
In actuality, though, you’re probably not going to be able to beat JD’s price if you personally import one of these from China.
Between all of the freight charges, customs fees, arrival charges, and other ransoms involved in importing large products from China, you’ll almost certainly wind up paying well over double the sticker price in the end.
I once bought a $2,000 electric mini-truck from China and wound up with an $8,000 lighter bank account by the time it was sitting in my driveway. It’s an awesome mini-truck that still works great nearly two years later, but let that serve as a point of comparison in terms of how much more it costs to get these products stateside.
Even so, it’s great to see how much innovation is coming out of China, and perhaps it will help force prices even lower here if companies ever start importing these things in bulk for western markets.
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After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!
It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.
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Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.
Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?
After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.
Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.
Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.
It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).
Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.
Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.
According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.
It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.
Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.
As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.
The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.
Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.
Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.
Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.
This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.
As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.
Prior to Trump taking power, Tesla had already planned to build a small LFP battery factory in the US to avoid the 25% tariffs.
The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.
Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:
Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):
Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.
The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.
Ford is also developing its own LFP battery cell factory in Michigan, but this facility is significantly larger, with a planned production capacity of 35 GWh.
Electrek’s Take
It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.
But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.
Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.
It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.
The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.
It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.
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