Zhong Tai Mini Electric SUV

Chinese company New Power is showing off its Zhong Tai mini Electric SUV. Known as the Zhong Tai because the name translates roughly as “peace and safety for the people. ” This mini electric SUV has lithium-ion batteries that can be recharged in 6-8 hours from a conventional socket, or in two hours from a high-power recharging point. With a top speed of 75mph and an estimated price tag of between £16,300 and £20,500 in Britain, the Zhong Tai could be both practical and affordable enough to make drivers part with their internal combustion engines for good.

The Sunday Times was the first western publication to put New Power’s claims to the test. On first impressions the Zhong Tai looked anything but remarkable. The car’s basic bodywork and chassis are based on a 2006 Daihatsu Terios, a compact 4×4, the licence for which was bought and adapted for Chinese production, originally as a petrol car. The electric version looks identical to a conventional Terios from the outside, with the recharging point where the petrol cap should be and only the absence of an exhaust pipe giving the game away.

At New Power’s spartan headquarters, Mao Zhong, the company’s general manager, outlined how his car could “solve the emissions problems” plaguing both China — where the number of cars is predicted to hit 150m by 2020 — and the rest of the world. But for all of New Power’s big promises, let’s not forget that the Zhong Tai’s other EV incarnation. The Electric SUV is actually a Zotye 2008. The Zotye was itself based on the Daihatsu Terios and was to be sold at the Spark EV.