Chinese electric vehicle maker Kandi has officially launched in the U.S. and already is offering a direct rival to the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV in the way of the Kandi K23.
The Kandi K23 is a five-door hatchback that is powered by a front-mounted electric motor producing 28 horsepower. A 41.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack provides an estimated range of around 188 miles and can charge from flat to full in around 7.5 hours. The top speed is 70 mph.
Standard features on the Kandi K23 include a 10-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity, a backup camera, an anti-theft system, foldable rear seats, power mirrors, power windows, driver and front-passenger airbags and a multi-function steering wheel.
Pricing for the Kandi K23 start at $29,999, but buyers could benefit from the federal EV tax credit of up to $7,500, where it’s applicable, potentially reducing the cost to $22,499. The vehicle is manufactured at Kandi’s plant in Hainan, China.
While the Kandi K23 does not seem like a competitive answer to the Chevrolet Bolt EV on paper, its low price may be able to entice some buyers who only want a cheap car to take on short commutes. The 2020 Bolt EV has a 66-kWh lithium-ion battery and an EPA-estimated range of 259 miles. The front-mounted electric motor produces 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque. Standard features on the Bolt EV include a 10.2-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an HD rear-vision camera, keyless entry/start, LED daytime running lights, 10 airbags and more.
Kandi will first launch in the U.S. in Dallas, but plans to expand its North American business outside of Texas in the near future. In addition to the K23, the automaker also has a cheaper K27 model on offer that has less range.
Comments
what about tariffs? china slaps huge tariffs on cars imported into china. we should do the same.
what about forced technology transfers? i doubt they have anything but let’s put it out there anyway.
Again China races ahead of the pack.
The way I think about the Chinese products after they gave us the Chinese virus, I do not want to buy a single piece of Chinese junk if I can help it. I’m sure many other people will feel this way. Keep the Chinese junk in China!!!!!!
Please tell me you’re also not buying products from the US considering the Spanish Flu emerged in Kansas and the H1N1 outbreak of 2009 was believed to have the first human to human transmission in the US as well.
Chinese virus? That rings of racism considering that the virus came to us via Europe.
A lot going on with that front end.
Man that thing is UGLY but just proves my point that the Bolt needs to start at $25,000 to be competitive going forward.
And when will Chevy get a Mach-3, Arhya, and iD.4 competitor.
To me this is no threat to Bolt sales, but I could see it appealing to some because of the low MSRP. This thing is barely a B segment car, whereas the Bolt is a huge B segment vehicle that is actually defined by the EPA as a small station wagon and not a subcompact.
The design team of this ugly little import should get some type of award for coming up with something that makes the Bolt look stunning by comparison.
All in all the Bolt is a great car, performing fantastic in my test drive a year ago. I just don’t know if I’ll be in a position where committing to electric makes sense. If local and federal governments offer more incentives and the electric car prices continues to drop maybe BEV will be the obvious way to go, but right now ICE is still a slightly more appealing option for most people.
Also, Dallas seems like a very strange place to launch a small BEV. Doesn’t seem like a great place to launch a vehicle like this. Any reason why they choose there?
@h4cksaw: Totally agree with you on every point. Well said.
Low state taxes maybe? Even then a better place could’ve been Austin, college students and transplants might have taken to this car better
That is quite ugly. But what stands out to me the most is the door frames. Why does it look like an armored car?
to keep the ugliness from escaping.
lol
See what years of stealing GM technology secrets has given us. I avoid (as much as I can) buying any crap made in China
Terrible that this from our nations biggest threat can receive a $7500 tax credit and a American made Tesla or Chevy can not
This is a joke, right?? 28 hp? I don’t know how they will sell any of these.
Max speed of 70mph sounds horrible.
0-60 must take longer than a Prius.
I googled the kandi-k23 0-60 and one website said it has 66 HP.
If it were a Cadillac they would call it “Pathetiq”
Lol
looks like a Smart car bit into a lemon lol
Its funny 28hp in USA for 5 seater .. except loyal China customers it’s very tough to sell .. but all the best .
Agree it’s not a good car by any standards to slow what happens at 75 mph highways or 80 in Montana.
25hp. Seriously? How much time it can go to 60m/h? They did not say, but I guess 30 seconds if it’s a downhill.
Well maybe someone will buy it as a town car , but it is not comparable to Bolt. Yes it also has 4 wheels and 5 doors, and come in red color, but it is ugly chinese junk.
I thought US would not trade with China but now you are giving them an opportunity to ruin your auto industry by introducing a piece of junk for your people. Stop importing junk from China. Also stop importing seeds for agriculture and farmers.
Chinese motorcycle’s and ATV’s are JUNK, I’ve had them. Cheap in cost but junk. I’m POSITIVE this car is junk too. Looking for a quality small car, buy a Honda Fit. My sister got one a few years back for under 15k and has had ZERO problems with it. Not bad.
I would suggest you need to differentiate between mainland China products and the island of Taiwan. Taiwanese products are earning a quality reputation. Rather than hating each other with trade wars, tariffs, military confrontations, we need hopeful diplomacy and strong, consistent leadership that lets foreign countries know that we believe in FAIR and Free trade. If a country wants to play the trade game with us, it must benefit all those who wish to participate.
$29,000? Somebody with more money than they know what to do with will buy it as a toy. 28 horsepower? and 188 mi range? Gotta be a test to see how easy the US is. Well, we’ve been letting the Chinese screw us for years so you can’t blame them for trying once more! Our own fault for being so stupid and or greedy…
Thanks Trump for that. He promised a wall but where is it? He promised fair trade, where is it? We got screwed by him.
It’s high time to vote any idiot OUT of office who would allow such a POS from China to come here AND get a Hefty tax credit from us while sending the profits back to CCP for further world domination efforts. WAKE UP AMERICA!.. And next time I’ll tell ya how I really feel.
Why doesn’t GM bring their Chinese E300Plus to the USA which would be an “entry level” EV for $12,000 and a range of 160-190 miles, currently not available in the USA. It could be sold in the same showroom as the Bolt only it would be for those of modest means who wish to switch to an all electric vehicle for primarily city or urban shorter distances. Affordability is an issue. We can’t all drive Teslas. We need low cost choices. Perhaps our Government could require that the E300Plus must be manufactured in one of the closed auto plants in the USA?
First the China virus, now this. Send the Chi-com pos back to where it came from.
Not a threat at that price which for 2k more you can get a Nissan Leaf…
The importer is throwing a huge markup on this as the price could probably be lowered up to 10k…
Kandi is a small second rate China manufacture but real threats will be coming at some point…
BYD is launching their new Han in the EU at roughly 40k and size/performance/tech wise it is a Tesla model S competitor and way nicer than the Bolt at roughly the same price..
A base Leaf might be marginally more expensive than the K23, but the Leaf Plus is around $15k more expensive. The K23 likely has noticeably more range than the base Leaf because its smaller, lighter, and has a slightly bigger battery (3% may not seem like much, but it may squeeze out 20 miles more range with the differences) The base Leaf might be a better buy for other reasons, though: more respected brand with better quality, dealer network to service the vehicle if problems happen, easier to service warranty, etc. Although, here in Canada the Leaf isn’t cheap. Base Leaf in Canada is $42k, and the Plus version only $2k more at $44k. In the US a base Leaf is $32k and the Plus version starts about $40k, so the pricing in Canada for the Nissan Leaf makes zero sense. Why they are charging so much for the base model makes no sense, its like they want no one to buy it. So, Nissan has overpriced the Leaf where I live, so I wouldn’t consider it. The Bolt is far superior.
Its a good start for competitive EV’s, but one major problem exists: Kandi models don’t have level 3 charging, which makes it difficult to use for long trips. Until they include a level 3 charger (which supposedly is coming) I wouldn’t purchase one, because it will always take 7-8 hours to fully charge from an empty battery. But, the price is certainly right. K27 is a bit too budget, but I could see K23 being a buy if they improve the charger.
Remember, the vehicle is basically a city car and really not designed for long trips—-drive 30 to 60 miles a day—plug in to 110 outlet overnight—-ready for work in the morning. For a budget, low priced electric vehicle some adjustments will be required, but it would still be a possible alternative transportation for people of limited income. I call it a purpose built vehicle that will get you to and from work or stores without requiring an ounce of gasoline!
I agree its not geared toward longer trips, primarily because of the lack of level 3 charging. However, it does have level 2 charging at 240v, which is much better than 110v charging (probably would take a 40kwh battery a full 24+ hours). However, if they just include a level 3 charger it changes that dynamic for long trips. I can see it happening with a later update of the Kandi vehicle, even the iMiev had level 3, and it was a vehicle that was more budget than this one by far. The K23 is highway capable, and with a 40kwh battery I’d estimate you could probably easily get 200-250km of range. With fast chargers popping up everywhere, that’s all you need even for very long trips. I do hope they include level 3 in an update later on. The K27 is the limited product, it truly is a grade smaller and what I’d call a “city car”. The K23 is a perfectly good size main car, the problem in North America is that we’re accustomed to oversized vehicles. Most people do not need these behemoths on the roads. And cars like the Bolt or Leaf should be considered large cars, they can carry pretty much anything an average family needs.