Buying a $1,700 electric jeep from China? Here’s what you’ll get
China’s online shopping site Alibaba is chock-full of interesting electric vehicles with all sorts of wacky designs. And for this week’s entry in the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week, a super low-cost electric jeep like this looks just about as fun as it does oddly proportioned.
The vendor lists a price range of between US $1,000 to $2,400, but when I discussed it with them I was quoted a price of closer to US $1,700.
So what does US $1.7k get you in the world of cheap electric jeeps?
Not much, if you’re expecting something that can tackle the Rubicon trail. But if you’re looking for something fun to tool around the trailhead, this might be it. Well, as long as your legs aren’t too long.
The electric jeep is more of a shrunken version, measuring a mere 2.2 meters (7.5 feet) long, bumper to bumper.
It’s got two seats, but the video below of an adult operating it makes it look like you and your riding buddy better be pretty close pals.
The electric jeep comes with three different motor options of 500W, 800W, and 1,500W. With the largest of the three offering a measly two horsepower of continuous power and perhaps 50% more in peak power, this isn’t going to be a high performance ride. The 48V 20Ah lead acid battery pack doesn’t sound too large, but they somehow magically quote a range of up to 130 km (80 miles). Good luck with that.
They do show it climbing an incline, but it doesn’t do so very fast. The little electric jeep’s top speed is just 35-40 km/h (22 to 25 mph), with the final figure in that range likely decided by how large your lunch was today.
There’s also only 10 cm (4 inches) of ground clearance, so you’ll want to be careful with any seriously uneven terrain.
If you do get stuck though, don’t fret. The little electric jeep includes a winch as part of the price. It’s not pictured, but they assured me it comes in the box. If you want any other accessories though, like the wheel cowls, taller roll bar, jerry cans or spare wheels, those will cost you extra.
And if your winch cable isn’t long enough to reach the nearest tree, the entire thing only weighs 180 kg (400 lb), so you can probably just grab one end and heave a bit.
It’s not quite as old school Willys jeep-looking as the last awesome electric jeep I found, but in a way I kind of like this one better. It doesn’t try too hard for a vintage army look, and instead offers a more 90s Wrangler vibe.
Of course this is a jeep with a lowercase ‘j’, so don’t expect any real Wrangler nods, but the design certainly looks like it’d be fun for playing around in while off-road. It won’t have quite the utility of most other electric UTVs, but it sure would turn more heads.
And before you start pulling out your wallet, please allow me to help you put that bad idea to rest. As usual, here’s my disclaimer that this column is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. It’s fun to find these weird and awesome EVs on Alibaba, but I never recommend anyone buying one. In fact, one of my readers bought something similar a couple years ago and found that the production quality was seriously lacking, to the point that he wouldn’t have been able to assemble it if he hadn’t owned a welder and been able to re-engineer it in his garage.
Then there’s the whole risk of buying on Alibaba in general. While I’ve had positive experiences buying some vehicles like my electric mini-truck and five seater electric boat, I’ve also had horror stories. I ordered an electric excavator several months ago, and while the transaction seemed to be going fine, the crate that finally showed up had a totally different useless machine in it that was effectively worthless. I was out some serious dough with absolutely no recourse (full story on that one coming soon, once I calm down).
So in good old fashioned “Do what I say, not what I do”, please don’t try and order weird things like this from Alibaba. Let’s just all enjoy window shopping and keeping our hard earned money in our bank accounts, getting drained monthly by Netflix, just like the good lord intended.
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Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.
To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.
Three big problems holding Europe’s wind power back
Europe’s wind power growth is stalling for three key reasons:
Permitting delays. Many governments haven’t implemented the EU’s new permitting rules, making it harder for projects to move forward.
Grid connection bottlenecks. Over 500 GW(!) of potential wind capacity is stuck in grid connection queues.
Slow electrification. Europe’s economy isn’t electrifying fast enough to drive demand for more renewable energy.
Brussels-based trade association WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson summed it up: “The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power, which means increased competitiveness.”
Permitting: Germany sets the standard
Permitting remains a massive roadblock, despite new EU rules aimed at streamlining the process. In fact, the situation worsened in 2024 in many countries. The bright spot? Germany. By embracing the EU’s permitting rules — with measures like binding deadlines and treating wind energy as a public interest priority — Germany approved a record 15 GW of new onshore wind in 2024. That’s seven times more than five years ago.
If other governments follow Germany’s lead, Europe could unlock the full potential of wind energy and bolster energy security.
Grid connections: a growing crisis
Access to the electricity grid is now the biggest obstacle to deploying wind energy. And it’s not just about long queues — Europe’s grid infrastructure isn’t expanding fast enough to keep up with demand. A glaring example is Germany’s 900-megawatt (MW) Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm. The turbines are ready to go, but the grid connection won’t be in place until 2026.
This issue isn’t isolated. Governments need to accelerate grid expansion if they’re serious about meeting renewable energy targets.
Electrification: falling behind
Wind energy’s growth is also tied to how quickly Europe electrifies its economy. Right now, electricity accounts for just 23% of the EU’s total energy consumption. That needs to jump to 61% by 2050 to align with climate goals. However, electrification efforts in key sectors like transportation, heating, and industry are moving too slowly.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with crafting an Electrification Action Plan. That can’t come soon enough.
More wind farms awarded, but challenges persist
On a positive note, governments across Europe awarded a record 37 GW of new wind capacity (29 GW in the EU) in 2024. But without faster permitting, better grid connections, and increased electrification, these awards won’t translate into the clean energy-producing wind farms Europe desperately needs.
Investments and corporate interest
Investments in wind energy totaled €31 billion in 2024, financing 19 GW of new capacity. While onshore wind investments remained strong at €24 billion, offshore wind funding saw a dip. Final investment decisions for offshore projects remain challenging due to slow permitting and grid delays.
Corporate consumers continue to show strong interest in wind energy. Half of all electricity contracted under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in 2024 was wind. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.
Read more: Renewables could meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030 – IEA
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the official unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
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The Chinese EV leader is launching a new flagship electric sedan. BYD’s new Han L EV leaked in China on Friday, revealing a potential Tesla Model S Plaid challenger.
What we know about the BYD Han L EV so far
We knew it was coming soon after BYD teased the Han L on social media a few days ago. Now, we are learning more about what to expect.
BYD’s new electric sedan appeared in China’s latest Ministry of Industry and Information Tech (MIIT) filing, a catalog of new vehicles that will soon be sold.
The filing revealed four versions, including two EV and two PHEV models. The Han L EV will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations. With a peak power of 580 kW (777 hp), the single-motor model packs more power than expected.
BYD’s dual-motor Han L gains an additional 230 kW (308 hp) front-mounted motor. As CnEVPost pointed out, the vehicle’s back has a “2.7S” badge, which suggests a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of just 2.7 seconds.
To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds. In China, the Model S Plaid starts at RBM 814,900, or over $110,000. Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader just unveiled its highly anticipated Model Y “Juniper” refresh in China on Thursday. It starts at RMB 263,500 ($36,000).
BYD already sells the Han EV in China, starting at around RMB 200,000. However, the single front motor, with a peak power of 180 kW, is much less potent than the “L” model. The Han EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.
At 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,970 mm, BYD’s new Han L is roughly the size of the Model Y (4,970 mm long, 1,964 mm wide, 1,445 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,960 mm).
Other than that it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack from BYD’s FinDreams unit, no other battery specs were revealed. Check back soon for the full rundown.
Source: CnEVPost, China MIIT
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