I bought a $390 electric bicycle directly from China. Here’s what showed up
Some of my regular readers may remember that I backed a risky-looking Indiegogo campaign for an ultra-low-cost electric bicycle that sounded almost too good to be true. I clearly advised readers against it, but I figured it might still be interesting to take on the risk myself to see what would happen.
This is the culmination of that story.
Now to be fair, I’m no beginner when it comes to buying weird EVs sight unseen directly from China. I’m the guy who imported that white electric mini pickup truck that went super viral several years ago (and the truck is still going strong!), not to mention Chinese electric boats and other fun things I’ve brought in.
And so when I saw an Indiegogo campaign for a super weird-looking electric bike called the Mihogo Mini, I knew I had to have one. With a starting price of $390, it sounded too good to be true, but that has rarely stopped me before.
When this story last left off, I had thrown down the cash and started my waiting game. Despite the promise of delivery a mere two months later, it actually took around eight months, but a bike box did eventually arrive in my family’s driveway. And to answer the question many of you are wondering, yes, this was pre-tariff insanity, back when a $390 e-bike only cost $390 instead of $899.
If you want to see my full unboxing and testing of the bike, check out my fun video here, which includes a super catchy riding song à la the Simpson’s “Canyanero”.
As promised, my tiny e-bike emerged in all its glory from that small bike box! It wasn’t big or powerful, but it was still pretty awesome. The little thing immediately got up to around 20 mph (32 km/h) despite its modest 350W rear hub motor. The 48V 16Ah battery is even surprisingly large at 768 Wh of capacity! These figures might not sound mindblowing, but for a cheap and diminutive e-bike, they’re downright impressive.
The front suspension fork might be tiny with what appears to be around an inch (25 mm) of travel, but it still counts as suspension. And the 12″ tires, each wrapped in an equally tiny fender, add a smidge more cushion to the ride.
For such a small and inexpensive e-bike, you may be surprised to see that it comes with a fairly detailed color LCD screen that can project turn-by-turn navigation arrows from your phone, a folding handlebar stem, and even front & rear LED lighting. It’s also IP65 rated, meaning you can get it splashed without worrying about instantly shorting out the electronics.
But the coolest feature of all, at least in my opinion, is the wishbone-style frame that creates a hollow cavity in the middle to fit a storage bag (included with the bike). While riding around, you can reach down into your mid-trunk and fish out a water bottle, your phone, or a bag of snacks to keep you going strong.
At just $390, of course there are several sacrifices to be made here. The saddle is pretty far from what most would consider to resemble any form of ‘comfort’, and the small wheels paired with the single-speed drivetrain means that pedaling at above 10-12 mph (16-20 km/h) doesn’t add much more speed. You’re almost entirely reliant on using the hand throttle to go any faster.
Despite its small size, it’s also a bit chunky at 41 lb (19 kg), meaning you’re not going to want to carry it up too many flights of stairs by yourself.
The bike is also quite compact and thus it probably wouldn’t fit someone over 5’10” (178 cm). I’m 5’7″ (170 cm) and it felt ok to me, but it’s obviously built with a domestic Chinese audience in mind, not taller Westerners. They claim it will fit riders up to 6’4″ (195 cm), but only so much as those circus bears technically fit on those tricycles.
For $390 though, it is hard for me to complain about it too much. You even get disc brakes and five color options, which is around three more color options than a lot of big-name e-bike brands in the US!
Don’t risk it like I did
Please don’t do what I did – there are plenty of Indiegogo campaigns that have ended badly, with folks never getting the e-bike or e-scooter they ordered. I went into this accepting that I was taking a big risk and knowing full well that I’d have to be ok with getting screwed over. I figured if a bike arrived, I’d get a nice video and article out of it. And if a bike didn’t, perhaps there’d be an article in that, too. But please don’t take this as a blanket endorsement for backing largely unknown e-bike companies in somewhat questionable crowdfunding campaigns.
I’m glad it paid off for me, and I honestly really like the little thing. It’s a shame that they raised the price up to $599 after the campaign ended (and briefly raised it up to $899 after my video came out and they apparently tried to capitalize on all the orders they were suddenly getting). For now it seems to be back to $599 while the company waits to see if they’ll have to raise prices again due to the Trump tariffs.
In the meantime, I’ll keep enjoying my weird little e-bike. Mihogo, Mihogo!
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![Hackers turn Nissan LEAF into full-scale RC car, record drivers' conversations [video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/05/nissan-leaf-hacked.png?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
A team of white hat European hackers using their brains, keyboards, and a couple of bits and baubles from eBay managed to take control of a 2020 Nissan LEAF and violate just about every privacy and safety regulation in the process.
The best part: they recorded the whole thing.
Budapest-based cybersecurity experts PCAutomotive were able to exploit a number of vulnerabilities in a 2020 Nissan LEAF that enabled the white hat team to geolocate and track the car, record the texts and conversations happening inside the car, playing media back through the car’s speakers, and even (this is the genuinely terrifying dangerous part) turning the steering wheel while the car was moving. (!?)
Maybe the scariest part of this hack, however, is how seemingly easy it was to pull off by starting with a “test bench simulator” built using parts from eBay and exploiting a vulnerability in the LEAF’s DNS C2 channel and Bluetooth protocol.
The PCAutomotive team gave a hugely detailed 118-page presentation of their exploit at black hat Asia 2025, which we’ve included at the bottom of this post, in case the original link goes dead. If you’re into that sort of thing, the fun stuff starts around page 27. And, if you’re not, just know that all the vulnerabilities were disclosed to Nissan and its suppliers between 02AUG2023 and 12SEP2024 (p. 116/118), and the “attack” itself can be seen in the video below that. Enjoy!
Summary of vulnerabilities
- CVE-2025-32056 – Anti-Theft bypass
- CVE-2025-32057 – app_redbend: MiTM attack
- CVE-2025-32058 – v850: Stack Overflow in CBR processing
- CVE-2025-32059 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [0]
- CVE-2025-32060 – Absence of a kernel module signature verification
- CVE-2025-32061 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [1]
- CVE-2025-32062 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [2]
- PCA_NISSAN_009 – Improper traffic filtration between CAN buses
- CVE-2025-32063 – Persistence for Wi-Fi network
- PCA_NISSAN_012 – Persistence through CVE-2017-7932 in HAB of i.MX 6
Remote exploitation of Nissan LEAF
Electrek’s Take
This is one of those posts that, on the bright side, does a great job explaining how a remote operator can “log in” to a vehicle and steer it out of trouble when a weird or edge-case-type situation pops up.
Unfortunately, this is also one of those posts that some of the more clueless anti-EV hysterics will point to and say, “See!? EVs can get hacked!” But the reality is that virtually any car with electric power steering (EPS), electronic throttle controls, brake-by-wire, etc. can be hacked in a similar way. But, while steering a target’s car into an oncoming semi might be a great way to pull off a covert CIA assassination, the more worrying issue here is the breach of privacy and recording – unless you want to spend some time in El Salvadoran prison, I guess.
Remember, kids: Big Brother is watching you.
SOURCE | IMAGES: black hat.
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A major new EV battery factory is being built in Sunderland, bringing 1,000 new jobs with it. AESC, Nissan’s battery partner, is behind the £1 billion ($1.33 billion) plant, which will boost the UK’s EV battery production by six times, enough to power 100,000 electric cars annually.
The 12 GWh capacity plant, AESC’s second battery plant in Sunderland, will be powered by 100% net-zero carbon energy. That big jump in capacity helps position Britain as a global player in EV manufacturing while pushing forward the country’s net-zero goals.
The investment is getting a serious financial lift from the British government. Through a combination of support from the National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance, the project is unlocking £680 million in financing from major banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, SMBC Group, Societe Generale, and BBVA, that covers the construction and operation of the battery factory. Another £320 million is coming from private investment and fresh equity from AESC. On top of all that, the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund is pitching in with £150 million in grant funding.
This deal follows closely on the heels of the new UK-US trade agreement announced a day earlier, which cuts car export tariffs from 27.5% down to 10% for up to 100,000 UK-made vehicles – nearly the total number exported last year. That move could save car companies hundreds of millions of pounds and help protect good-paying jobs in manufacturing hubs like Sunderland.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves visited AESC in Sunderland, where she met with staff and local leaders to discuss what this means for the Northeast and the British car industry.
“This investment follows hot on the heels of yesterday’s landmark economic deal with the US, which will save thousands of jobs in the industry,” Reeves said.
Read more: UK unveils largest curbside EV charger installation of 6,000 ports
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It’s about the future of their jobs. Ford workers at two plants in western Germany are set to go on strike on Wednesday, their works council chief said on Monday.
Ford is facing a worker strike in Germany
In November, Ford announced it would cut around 4,000 jobs in Europe by 2027 as part of a restructuring, primarily in Germany and the UK. That’s still about 14% of its European workforce.
The American automaker said the move comes after it has incurred “significant losses” in recent years and a “highly disruptive market” with new EVs quickly gaining market share.
Ford blamed slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles and a weak economic situation. It also plans to slow production at its Cologne EV plant, where the electric Explorer and Capri are built.
Last week, IG Metall members voted in favor of “industrial action” with 93.5% of votes in favor of a strike. “Ford must act now—otherwise, we will go through with it,” said Kerstin D. Klein, Chief Representative of IG Metall Cologne-Leverkusen.
Ford is facing an influx of new competition, including Chinese EV makers like BYD. BYD’s overseas sales are surging with a fifth straight month of growth in April.
BYD even outsold Tesla in Germany last month, with 1,566 vehicles registered. In comparison, Tesla had just 855, and Ford saw 9,534 registrations.
On top of this, Ford, like most of the industry, is preparing for more disruption with Trump’s auto tariffs. After releasing Q1 earnings last week, Ford warned that the tariffs could cost up to $2.5 billion this year.
During Ford’s earnings call, CFO Sherry House said that recent EV launches in Europe, including the Explorer, Capri, and Puma Gen-E, helped more than double Model e’s wholesale volume in Q1.
After early success in the US, Ford also launched its “Power Promise” promotion in Europe, offering EV buyers a free home charger and several other perks.
Source: Reuters
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