Chinese Tesla rival is planning to launch a $7,800 ‘ultra-compact` electrified car in two thousand eighteen with changeable batteries

The electrical car market resumes to warmth up with fresh entrants looking to take on the likes of Tesla and traditional automakers in the space.

Chinese start-up CHJ Automotive is the latest player looking to come to market. The company is presently developing two vehicles – an “ultra-compact” electrified car, and a hybrid SUV.

Co-Founder Kevin Shen did not expose the names of the vehicles, hoping to keep them a surprise until later, but did expose to CNBC that the company is aiming for a launch in March two thousand eighteen for the compact car.

CHJ Automotive have not released official pictures yet of the car, but displayed CNBC some of the initial designs of the ultra-compact vehicle. The car is Two.Five meters long and one meter broad. It runs on two batteries which are swappable, meaning that the car won’t need to stop for too long at a charging station to re-juice. Google’s in-car operating system called Android Auto is tooled in the vehicle

It will be priced at inbetween 7,000 euros ($7,824) and 8,000 euros.

While it may seem like a petite vehicle, Shen explained the target market the company is after in China.

“In China, there are three hundred forty million people (who) daily commute with e-scooters, but there is a strong request for them to upgrade to something,” Shen told CNBC in a TV interview on Friday.

“But we cannot imagine all of them driving cars, so we want to give them something else, which is an ultra-compact car.”

It’s not just the Chinese market CHJ is after. Shen said the company will launch the product in Europe too, but not as a consumer suggesting, meaning people will not be able to buy a vehicle. Instead, the company is trailing rail sharing projects.

On Friday, CHJ created a joint venture with French rock hard Clem, which creates a car-sharing platform for users. CHJ and Clem are trialing a car-sharing service in Paris, where Shen said the ultra-compact car could help ease traffic.

CHJ is the latest entrant into the electrified car space. Competitors include the likes of Faraday Future, Nio, and even Swedish rigid NEVS, which CNBC reported on last week. CHJ also competes with traditional car makers developing electrified cars, and Tesla. However, Tesla cars do begin at a higher price point, with the cheapest vehicle – the Model three – beginning at around $30,000.

Even as CHJ expands globally, Tesla is creeping in on the start-ups home turf. In 2016, Tesla sold $1 billion worth of vehicles. But Shen is not worried telling that China sells in excess of twenty five million cars each year with just a petite fraction being electrical vehicles.

“There is a very big market for everybody,” Shen told CNBC.

Chinese Tesla rival to launch $7, eight hundred ‘ultra-compact’ electrified car in two thousand eighteen with changeable batteries

Chinese Tesla rival is planning to launch a $7,800 ‘ultra-compact` electrical car in two thousand eighteen with changeable batteries

The electrical car market proceeds to warmth up with fresh entrants looking to take on the likes of Tesla and traditional automakers in the space.

Chinese start-up CHJ Automotive is the latest player looking to come to market. The company is presently developing two vehicles – an “ultra-compact” electrified car, and a hybrid SUV.

Co-Founder Kevin Shen did not expose the names of the vehicles, hoping to keep them a surprise until later, but did expose to CNBC that the company is aiming for a launch in March two thousand eighteen for the compact car.

CHJ Automotive have not released official photos yet of the car, but demonstrated CNBC some of the initial designs of the ultra-compact vehicle. The car is Two.Five meters long and one meter broad. It runs on two batteries which are swappable, meaning that the car won’t need to stop for too long at a charging station to re-juice. Google’s in-car operating system called Android Auto is tooled in the vehicle

It will be priced at inbetween 7,000 euros ($7,824) and 8,000 euros.

While it may seem like a puny vehicle, Shen explained the target market the company is after in China.

“In China, there are three hundred forty million people (who) daily commute with e-scooters, but there is a strong request for them to upgrade to something,” Shen told CNBC in a TV interview on Friday.

“But we cannot imagine all of them driving cars, so we want to give them something else, which is an ultra-compact car.”

It’s not just the Chinese market CHJ is after. Shen said the company will launch the product in Europe too, but not as a consumer suggesting, meaning people will not be able to buy a vehicle. Instead, the company is trailing rail sharing projects.

On Friday, CHJ created a joint venture with French stiff Clem, which creates a car-sharing platform for users. CHJ and Clem are trialing a car-sharing service in Paris, where Shen said the ultra-compact car could help ease traffic.

CHJ is the latest entrant into the electrical car space. Competitors include the likes of Faraday Future, Nio, and even Swedish rock hard NEVS, which CNBC reported on last week. CHJ also competes with traditional car makers developing electrical cars, and Tesla. However, Tesla cars do commence at a higher price point, with the cheapest vehicle – the Model three – beginning at around $30,000.

Even as CHJ expands globally, Tesla is creeping in on the start-ups home turf. In 2016, Tesla sold $1 billion worth of vehicles. But Shen is not worried telling that China sells in excess of twenty five million cars each year with just a puny fraction being electrical vehicles.

“There is a very big market for everybody,” Shen told CNBC.

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