Wheego Claims December Launch For EV Smart Clone

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Looking for an electric car in the $33k price range (before tax credits)? Starting soon you will have two options: Nissan’s Leaf, a 100 mile range, four-door, US-made compact hatchback or Wheego‘s LiFe, a 100 mile range, electrified Chinese city car that is barely distinguishable from the Smart ForTwo. Can you picture many Americans picking the Chinese Smart clone over the Nissan? But Wheego, which previously sold only Low Speed Vehicles, is undeterred. The company claims it will start selling the 70 MPH top-speed LiFe next month… even though AN [sub] reports that the LiFe hasn’t completed EPA certification. Meanwhile, we still haven’t seen a US crash test of the Wheego or the Shuanghuan Noble it’s based on… so we have to rely on questionable Chinese vids like the one above (where’s that airbag?). Wheego is going to need some seriously slick salesmen to make the pitch on this car…

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments
Join the conversation
 4 comments
  • Bancho Bancho on Nov 19, 2010

    Seeing as no one in the US wants to buy a gas powered Smart, a knockoff niche version seems like a brilliant idea.

  • Rod Panhard Rod Panhard on Nov 19, 2010

    I thought a "Weego" was a four-door "Yugo." Oh well.

  • Tree Trunk Tree Trunk on Nov 19, 2010

    What were those three wheeled Chinese EV that were imported few years back? Sounds like their owners will run screaming at the mere thought of another Chinese EV

  • Robert.Walter Robert.Walter on Nov 19, 2010

    Maybe the airbag did not deploy because the crash only happened at 1 mph?

Next