7 ms·

> It remains to be seen whether the Olinia One will face similar pushback from the U.S. once it goes on sale. > can travel up to 125 kilometers (77 miles) on a

by gwbas1c 4mo ago

> It remains to be seen whether the Olinia One will face similar pushback from the U.S. once it goes on sale. > can travel up to 125 kilometers (77 miles) on a single charge The US market generally rejects small-range EVs, except in very niche markets. In order to succeed in the US, it will need roughly 3-4x the range. In order for this to succeed in Mexico, their market will need different driving habits than the typical American. (I know this as a former 2014 Leaf lessee. Short-range EVs only make sense when they are the only option in my price range, and I really, really want to drive an EV. Maybe the typical Mexican rarely drives far away from home? Or maybe this is for a niche of Mexicans who really, really want an EV and will tolerate a short range?)

friarpuck 4mo ago
I was thinking it would make a good candidate for city taxis and other such urban uses
- craftkiller 4mo ago
  NYC taxis drive an average of 180 miles per shift[0] so they'd need to triple the range or have some sort of system where they can swap their depleted taxi for a freshly-charged one mid-shift. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_New_York_City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_New_York_City
- alemanek 4mo ago
  Yeah taxis in the capital and small people movers to go from hotel to beach is where these will shine. EVs are especially well suited to stop and go traffic as well. People are so caught up trying to solve every use case at once. Dropping pollution caused by old taxis in city centers will be a big win for Mexico if they can hit their price point. At the price they are quoting fleet operators can buy 2 and have their drivers swap out mid-day during their lunch.
CalRobert 4mo ago
"The car is designed for urban settings and has a top speed of 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour." I don't think range will be an issue at that speed tbh. Cool little transport but not really a "car" in the way we think of them.
- dieselgate 4mo ago
  > The car is designed for urban settings Huh, the speed limit is odd because in my urban/city driving in the western US (San Diego, LA, SF, Portland and Seattle) all major cities still basically necessitate non-zero highway driving. Even mopeds (and bicycles) can pretty easily exceed 31 mph. I've spent about 2 months total in Mexico City and there are still in-city areas where it'd be common to exceed 31 mph. The main rate limiter being traffic... Anyway not to pooh-pooh the idea too much, I am sure there are plenty of use cases but maybe enabling a top speed of 55 mph would increase utility IMO
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
  - fluoridation 4mo ago
    How many people do you know who can "easily" exceed 50 km/h on a bicycle?
    - CalRobert 4mo ago
      They might be thinking of e-bikes that aren't regulated (at that point basically an electric motorcycle) If not then maybe downhill....
- catlikesshrimp 4mo ago
  An amusing coincidence: the maximum allowed speed in Nicaragua is 50 km/h If This wasn't about to countries in America, I would suspect something technical behind those decisions. The only thing I can think of is the loss of energy efficiency when driving over 60km/h As with everything, finding an official announcement of something in Nicaragua might be horrible, so have this instead https://ni.usembassy.gov/message-for-u-s-citizens-new-speed-limits-in-nicaragua/ https://ni.usembassy.gov/message-for-u-s-citizens-new-speed-...
guywithahat 4mo ago
That was my thought too. They obviously won’t face pushback entering the US from a legal standpoint, but I don’t think consumers will tolerate a sub-200 mile EV well here
- evan_ 4mo ago
  > They obviously won’t face pushback entering the US from a legal standpoint I suspect the current federal government might push back on a Mexican EV just for ideological reasons.
Rotdhizon 4mo ago
I know absolutely nothing about Mexico in terms of geography or driving so I wonder how feasible an EV that you presumably constantly have to charge is going to fare. In the US, a range of 77 miles is a complete non starter. You'd have to charge it every single day. If not multiple times a day in some peoples cases. It's interesting that info about the car is only half the article. The other half is a commentary on how US politicians are desperately trying to keep foreign EVs out of the country, lest it hurt corporate profits.
- phildenhoff 4mo ago
  If you have a charger at home, or at work, why does it matter if you have to charge it daily or weekly? Yes, for some lifestyles, range matters. For others, a 125 km range is perfectly acceptable
  - HeyLaughingBoy 4mo ago
    For a significant segment of the US population, that thing wouldn't get them to work and back, so they'd have to charge it both at home and at work. And in many cases, forget running any errands, picking up kids from daycare, etc. And minimum speed on US interstates is typically 40mph, so that reduces its usability even more.
    - phildenhoff 4mo ago
      I don't think this car is designed for them, similar to how trucks are not designed for urban areas. Not every car has to cater to every demographic.
      - HeyLaughingBoy 4mo ago
        People move around: that's what cars are for. Trucks may not be "designed for urban areas" (whatever that means), but they certainly go into them on a daily basis.
    - applfanboysbgon 4mo ago
4MOAisgoodenuf 4mo ago
The limits on range and speed (reported 50kph) would make it a horrible deal for the average American. 150k pesos (~$8.6k) for a brand new wheelchair-accessible city van seems like a killer deal in the Mexican market. That would come on the market for less than a used air-cooled VW beetle (ended production in Mexico in 2003)
- wqaatwt 4mo ago
  Can’t you get a much better used car for that? that’s probably one of the reasons why there is not much demand for basic cheap cars with no features in Western countries at least. Modern cars are much more reliable and last longer than they used to several decades ago and stripped down budget models can’t compete with that.
waffletower 4mo ago
Even a used Nissan Leaf with degraded batteries is a viable vehicle in many U.S. cities. I would not call these markets "niche", there are many mid-large metropolitan population centers where they are practical. To use "niche", is either a political denial or ignorance of the population distribution of the United States. They are popular where I live, I drove one as a primary vehicle for 8.5 years, and I have purchased another used Leaf for my teenager. The empty pickup truck is also a "niche" vehicle with this usage -- it clearly isn't an appropriate choice for every driving need and locale.
fajmccain 4mo ago
This new EV is to replace motorcycles and scooters that are ubiquitous in mexico. If it succeeds in getting 100k people off of motorcycles it will have the side benefit of reducing healthcare costs treating motorcycle accidents.
- moralestapia 4mo ago
  People don't choose motorcycles and scooters because they like them, it's because they're cheaper than cars. This EV is much more expensive than a motorcycle or a scooter, so on that regard it is DOA.
FlyingSnake 4mo ago
> can travel up to 125 kilometers (77 miles) on a single charge This would be a big hit in European cities. I own VW e-Up! and it's a perfect EU city car. With it's 375KM range, I rarely charge it more than once a month.
dyauspitr 4mo ago
77 miles is nigh useless. Realistically that means you get 40 worry free miles. It’s ridiculous.
pjc50 4mo ago
This car is explicitly intended as a taxi. If - and it's a big if - the taxi can charge while waiting for jobs, that's going to be fine.
- rsynnott 4mo ago
  Oh, huh, yeah, would have been helpful if the article mentioned that. Range is probably _fine_ in that case.
rsynnott 4mo ago
> The US market generally rejects small-range EVs, except in very niche markets. In order to succeed in the US, it will need roughly 3-4x the range I mean, I assume it is not the case that literally all Americans regularly make long journeys. There probably is a market. > I know this as a former 2014 Leaf lessee. That was a lot more expensive than this. The Dacia Spring has a range of a little less than twice these, and I see a good few of those around. Those cost about 15k EUR (17k USD). I'd definitely buy that there is at least _some_ market for something half the cost and half the range.

by gwbas1c 4mo ago

friarpuck 4mo ago

I was thinking it would make a good candidate for city taxis and other such urban uses

craftkiller 4mo ago
NYC taxis drive an average of 180 miles per shift[0] so they'd need to triple the range or have some sort of system where they can swap their depleted taxi for a freshly-charged one mid-shift. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_New_York_City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_New_York_City
alemanek 4mo ago
Yeah taxis in the capital and small people movers to go from hotel to beach is where these will shine. EVs are especially well suited to stop and go traffic as well. People are so caught up trying to solve every use case at once. Dropping pollution caused by old taxis in city centers will be a big win for Mexico if they can hit their price point. At the price they are quoting fleet operators can buy 2 and have their drivers swap out mid-day during their lunch.

CalRobert 4mo ago

"The car is designed for urban settings and has a top speed of 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour." I don't think range will be an issue at that speed tbh. Cool little transport but not really a "car" in the way we think of them.

dieselgate 4mo ago
> The car is designed for urban settings Huh, the speed limit is odd because in my urban/city driving in the western US (San Diego, LA, SF, Portland and Seattle) all major cities still basically necessitate non-zero highway driving. Even mopeds (and bicycles) can pretty easily exceed 31 mph. I've spent about 2 months total in Mexico City and there are still in-city areas where it'd be common to exceed 31 mph. The main rate limiter being traffic... Anyway not to pooh-pooh the idea too much, I am sure there are plenty of use cases but maybe enabling a top speed of 55 mph would increase utility IMO
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]
- fluoridation 4mo ago
  How many people do you know who can "easily" exceed 50 km/h on a bicycle?
  - CalRobert 4mo ago
    They might be thinking of e-bikes that aren't regulated (at that point basically an electric motorcycle) If not then maybe downhill....
catlikesshrimp 4mo ago
An amusing coincidence: the maximum allowed speed in Nicaragua is 50 km/h If This wasn't about to countries in America, I would suspect something technical behind those decisions. The only thing I can think of is the loss of energy efficiency when driving over 60km/h As with everything, finding an official announcement of something in Nicaragua might be horrible, so have this instead https://ni.usembassy.gov/message-for-u-s-citizens-new-speed-limits-in-nicaragua/ https://ni.usembassy.gov/message-for-u-s-citizens-new-speed-...

guywithahat 4mo ago

That was my thought too. They obviously won’t face pushback entering the US from a legal standpoint, but I don’t think consumers will tolerate a sub-200 mile EV well here

evan_ 4mo ago
> They obviously won’t face pushback entering the US from a legal standpoint I suspect the current federal government might push back on a Mexican EV just for ideological reasons.

Rotdhizon 4mo ago

I know absolutely nothing about Mexico in terms of geography or driving so I wonder how feasible an EV that you presumably constantly have to charge is going to fare. In the US, a range of 77 miles is a complete non starter. You'd have to charge it every single day. If not multiple times a day in some peoples cases. It's interesting that info about the car is only half the article. The other half is a commentary on how US politicians are desperately trying to keep foreign EVs out of the country, lest it hurt corporate profits.

phildenhoff 4mo ago
If you have a charger at home, or at work, why does it matter if you have to charge it daily or weekly? Yes, for some lifestyles, range matters. For others, a 125 km range is perfectly acceptable
- HeyLaughingBoy 4mo ago
  For a significant segment of the US population, that thing wouldn't get them to work and back, so they'd have to charge it both at home and at work. And in many cases, forget running any errands, picking up kids from daycare, etc. And minimum speed on US interstates is typically 40mph, so that reduces its usability even more.
  - phildenhoff 4mo ago
    I don't think this car is designed for them, similar to how trucks are not designed for urban areas. Not every car has to cater to every demographic.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 4mo ago
      People move around: that's what cars are for. Trucks may not be "designed for urban areas" (whatever that means), but they certainly go into them on a daily basis.
  - applfanboysbgon 4mo ago

4MOAisgoodenuf 4mo ago

The limits on range and speed (reported 50kph) would make it a horrible deal for the average American. 150k pesos (~$8.6k) for a brand new wheelchair-accessible city van seems like a killer deal in the Mexican market. That would come on the market for less than a used air-cooled VW beetle (ended production in Mexico in 2003)

wqaatwt 4mo ago
Can’t you get a much better used car for that? that’s probably one of the reasons why there is not much demand for basic cheap cars with no features in Western countries at least. Modern cars are much more reliable and last longer than they used to several decades ago and stripped down budget models can’t compete with that.

waffletower 4mo ago

Even a used Nissan Leaf with degraded batteries is a viable vehicle in many U.S. cities. I would not call these markets "niche", there are many mid-large metropolitan population centers where they are practical. To use "niche", is either a political denial or ignorance of the population distribution of the United States. They are popular where I live, I drove one as a primary vehicle for 8.5 years, and I have purchased another used Leaf for my teenager. The empty pickup truck is also a "niche" vehicle with this usage -- it clearly isn't an appropriate choice for every driving need and locale.

fajmccain 4mo ago

This new EV is to replace motorcycles and scooters that are ubiquitous in mexico. If it succeeds in getting 100k people off of motorcycles it will have the side benefit of reducing healthcare costs treating motorcycle accidents.

moralestapia 4mo ago
People don't choose motorcycles and scooters because they like them, it's because they're cheaper than cars. This EV is much more expensive than a motorcycle or a scooter, so on that regard it is DOA.

FlyingSnake 4mo ago

> can travel up to 125 kilometers (77 miles) on a single charge This would be a big hit in European cities. I own VW e-Up! and it's a perfect EU city car. With it's 375KM range, I rarely charge it more than once a month.

dyauspitr 4mo ago

77 miles is nigh useless. Realistically that means you get 40 worry free miles. It’s ridiculous.

pjc50 4mo ago

This car is explicitly intended as a taxi. If - and it's a big if - the taxi can charge while waiting for jobs, that's going to be fine.

rsynnott 4mo ago
Oh, huh, yeah, would have been helpful if the article mentioned that. Range is probably _fine_ in that case.

rsynnott 4mo ago

> The US market generally rejects small-range EVs, except in very niche markets. In order to succeed in the US, it will need roughly 3-4x the range I mean, I assume it is not the case that literally all Americans regularly make long journeys. There probably is a market. > I know this as a former 2014 Leaf lessee. That was a lot more expensive than this. The Dacia Spring has a range of a little less than twice these, and I see a good few of those around. Those cost about 15k EUR (17k USD). I'd definitely buy that there is at least _some_ market for something half the cost and half the range.