We obtained Min’an Automobile’s first production EV from China MIIT – the LANTU A2001 (previously internal code), which will be named MX-6 through its tail logo. In addition, it is understood that the car will be available for sale at the end of 2019 or early 2020 in China.
In terms of appearance, the overall shape of the new car is highly technological and futuristic. The car adopts the popular split-type headlights group, the light groups are formed by and the geometrical folds, the visual effect is very fierce. The fully enclosed shape of the intake grille, combined with the shape of the sharp front bumper, the visual effect is outstanding. In terms of the body, the car’s charging port is placed at the right front eyebrow. In the tail, the new car adopts a bar-style taillight group design.
In terms of body size, the length, width and height are respectively 4701/1889/1706mm and the wheelbase is 2705mm. In terms of power, it will be powered by a drive motor (TZ230XS45EJ) with maximum power of 167 ps (125 kW), it is equipped with a ternary lithium-ion power battery pack produced by Gotion (Hefei Guoxuan Hi-Tech).
As a Chinese auto manufacturer startup, Min’an Automobile started from the parts and components company, established in 2013, the full name of Jiangsu Min’an Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. was established by both Zhantu (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and Huai’an Development Holdings Co., Ltd. Zhantu is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taiwan Minth Group. Minth Group is a world-renowned auto parts manufacturer. It is known for its high-end exterior parts. The main customers are BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volkswagen and Toyota.
In 2016, Min An Automobile received the approval of China Development and Reform Commission’s pure electric passenger vehicle project. It is the fifth enterprise to obtain the qualification license for new energy vehicle production, and has become a dark horse born in the new energy vehicle enterprise. Although the qualifications were obtained earlier, the presence of Min An Automobile does not seem to be eager to build a car compared to the high-profile EV startups such as NIO(Weilai), WM Motor, Xpeng.
According to the “Order No. 27” of the National Development and Reform Commission(NDRC), the NDRC will withdraw the production qualifications that have not been produced within two years of production and that do not have production conditions. Therefore, Min’an Automobile, which has been understated for two years, has finally completed the construction of the factory and the confirmation of the vehicle line, and announced the launch of mass production. According to reports, the construction of the Huai’an production base of Min’an Automobile was officially launched in early 2017. The total investment of the project is 8.3 billion yuan, and the planned area is 947 mu. This time, the four major workshops were officially completed. After the factory is fully built, it can achieve a maximum annual output of 80,000 pure electric vehicles.
According to Min An Automobile, the pure electric SUV with its internal code name “LANTU A2001” was officially offline last year. The car will then enter the experimental verification phase, and the production car is scheduled to go on sale at the end of 2019 or early 2020. This means that the first model of Min An Automobile may be less than two years from trial to market, which can not help but express concerns about its quality control issues.
