BaoYa Electric Vehicle From China

Shandong Baoya Vehicle Company of China recently reported impressive US sales for their BaoYa vehicle. The company claims 500 vehicles were sold in 2008 and that orders for 2009 have already reached 4,800. The vehicle has a top speed of 50 mph (limited to 25 mph as a low speed vehicle) and a range of 90 miles according to the company. The vehicle is priced in China at $4,500 to $5,000.

Comment: I am skeptical about these sales figures for both 2008 and 2009. The 2008 figures would mean they outsold more well known LSVs like ZENN and Tomberlin and the 2009 figure would put them on par with GEM sales, all while going largely unnoticed in the market. The performance characteristics at that price point also seem optimistic.