General Motors‘ China joint venture is launching the Cabrio, a two-seater convertible electric vehicle, on Thursday, capitalizing on the wild success of its Hongguang Mini in the world’s hottest EV market.
For a chance to get behind the wheel of a Cabrio, made by SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., consumers will have to enter a lottery, with winners to be announced later in September, Zhang Yiqin, Wuling Motors’ head of branding and marketing, said.
The tactic is due to a small production run of between 100 and 200 cars a month, with room to ramp up depending on demand, he said. The model’s price hasn’t been finalized yet, but is expected to be between 100,000 yuan ($14,500) and 200,000 yuan, Zhang added.
First unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2021, the Cabrio was designed with loyal Hongguang customers in mind, some of whom have been customizing their cars and were asking for a convertible model.
The Hongguang Mini, starting at around $4,700, became the best selling electric car model in China last year, with more than 426,000 vehicles flying off the production line thanks to their affordable price, cute features and compact design. Tesla Inc. sold 321,000 EVs in China in the same period, around half its global sales.
