Way back in May 2020, GM Authority reported that Wuling – the Chinese joint venture between SAIC and General Motors – introduced the Rongguang EV. Standing as the brand’s first all-electric minivan, the Rongguang EV is now headed to U.S. shores under the new Mullen One nameplate.
Based heavily on SAIC-GM-Wuling’s Rongguang EV, the Mullen One commercial electric delivery van – as well as its Mullen Campus on-site variant – will soon be sold in the U.S. With a payload of 1,683 pounds and a driving range of 110 miles on a full charge, the Mullen One is designed for in-town cargo carrying duties.
“This van was designed to navigate within narrow urban streets and residential roads, all while maximizing payload and cargo space,” a spokesperson claimed.
There are a few noteworthy pieces regarding the upcoming electric van. For one, the Mullen One’s front end appears to be heavily modified, likely for U.S. certification reasons. Additionally, the delivery van’s width measurement sits at a tiny 64 inches. For perspective, the smallest General Motors vehicle currently sold in the U.S. is the Chevy Bolt EV, which boasts a width of 69.5 inches. In fact, the most recent GM vehicle to feature a smaller width was the 2022 Chevy Spark, which measured in at 62.8 inches wide. In terms of height, the Mullen One stands at less than 6.5 feet tall.
Finally, the company claims that the Mullen One will be built in the U.S. at the same plant that used to produce the Hummer H2.
The upcoming Mullen One is projected to the first Class 1 commercial electric vehicle in the U.S. market, and will feature a starting price of $34,500. Further details will be released in the future.
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Comments
Seems like a decent application of an EV, finally. Will be interesting to see if it catches on.
It can compete against the E-Transit.
It’s tiny, how will it compete with a fullsize van?
Not good. It will be steal brightdrops sales share.
I think that you missed the part about this thing being about the size of a Chevy Spark
In width, not length.
It is 176 inches long. That is midway between a Sonic and a Cruze.
This thing is an Asian microvan. They are tiny and they are very common in China. The closest that we have seen here is the Chevy City Express or Nissan NV200. These are nowhere close the the bread truck size of the Brightdrop.
Yeah why don’t they change the front fascia and sell it as a brightdrop product?
Another EV brand for gm? Who is making these incredibly stupid decisions?
I really wish people would read these articles. This is Not a GM brand. It’s an independent start-up that is building a modified SAIC-GM vehicle for the US market.
EhditOr: You are correct from what I have gathered in just a quick check. This will be sold by Mullen, and if I am not mistaken, a California based company.
Give me my lumps. You are correct that it is not another gm brand. But you must agree with me that there seems to be a lot of inbreeding going on here with this product.
Mullen one is going to build a vehicle made by a company half owned by gm. Mullen’s CEO – Jim Taylor is an ex-gm CEO (of the Hummer brand) and the Mullen will be built in a former gm plant. Hmmmm.
GM is a minority owner of the company in China building these. That GM Authority likes to call it a GM product is more than a little misleading.
OK so what division of GM will be selling these? GMC or Chevrolet dealer ships??
Probably a whole new franchise.
I think you missed this part: “the Rongguang EV is now headed to U.S. shores under the new Mullen One nameplate.” Mullen is going to sell it!
Kind of like asking if Chevy or GMC is going to sell the GM-built Honda Prologue EV, or if Buick or Cadillac is going to sell the GM-built Acura ZDX EV.
This whole Mullen thing is murky. Their website claims their factory is in Tunica, MS. The Hummer H2 was built at AM General in Indiana. Mullen website claims Mullen Five (Tesla Model-X looking) crossover and Bollinger military-looking pick-up and SUV will be built in IN, all the commercial vehicles in MS. Mullen is trying to cash in on being “Made in the USA” so they can get the incentives. I noticed some US states buying Mullens for their fleets, presumably based on them being US built.
Mullen went around buying up all sorts of failed EV startups. This news makes me think it was probably an ELMS project before they took over.
Mullen bought the old hummer plant just recently.
For anyone who has the pleasure of getting stuck behind some of these delivery van (especially the older high miles vans), this would be a very welcome addition. For me, it’s vehicles like this and busses and short-haul trucks (semi’s) that make the most sense for going EV. What doesn’t make sense to me? Wasting all the materials, time, effort and factory space to build an over-priced fat Hummer. So I welcome this as a smaller van would certainly be useful and better suited in most delivery situations.
China junk that will catch on fire
SINCE THIS GM WULONG VAN WILL BE BUILT IN THE USA, AND GM MAKES 4 VERY SMALL GASOLINE ENGINES OF 1.5 LITERS OR LESS, ( A 1.2 LITER, A 1.3 LITER, A 1.4 LITER & A 1.5 LITER PERFECT FOR THIS LIGHTWEIGH VAN. ) THE BETTER SELLER WOULD BE FOR GM TO OFFER A DUAL FUEL, GASOLINE AND PROPANE POWERTRAIN. THEY CAN BE SOLD AS A TAXI CAB WITH A DUAL FUEL SYSTEM. ( A RACE VERSION CAN USE THE 2.7 LITER HIGH OUTPUT TURBO 4, FROM THE CHEV COLORADO….LOL ) GM, BUILD A BODY-IN-WHITE VERSION WHERE THE GASOLINE/PROPANE SYSTEMS CAN BE INSTALLED AT A DIFFERENT FACTORY IN THE USA. WINDOWS & 2ND & 3RD ROW SEATS OR WHEELCHAIR RAMPS CAN BE INSTALLED.
THE HEAVIER WEIGHT OF THE BATTERY ELECTRIC SYSTEM WILL ALLOW A HIGHER CARGO CAPACITY FOR THE LIGHTWEIGHT GASOLINE/PROPANE POWER SYSTEM. THE ENGINES START ON GASOLINE & AUTOMATICALLY SWITCHES TO PROPANE.
THE BIG ADVANTAGE OF THE PROPANE/GASOLINE COMBO SYSTEM IS THAT THE WHOLESALE PRICE OF A TRUCKLOAD OR RAILWAY CAR LOAD OF PROPANE IS BELOW $1 A GALLON IN EVERY SINGLE PADD REGION OF THE USA IN MID OCTOBER 2023. PROPANE WEIGHS LESS THAN GASOLINE OR DIESEL FUEL, PROPANE WEIGHS JUST 4.24 POUNDS PER GALLON.
FROM MY EXPERINCE OF HELPING TO MANAGE A FLEET OF 425 TAXI CABS IN TORONTO THAT WENT OVER 25 MILLION MILES (40 MILLION KM) IN A 30 YEAR PERIOD, THAT HAD 380 OF THE CARS RUNNING ON PROPANE & 43 ON GASOLINE AND TWO ON DIESEL
THE PUMP PRICE OF HIGH OCTANE PROPANE (104) HAS BEEN 60 PERCENT OF PUMP PRICE OF GASOLINE FOR THE PAST 40 YEARS. SINCE PROPANE BURNS SO CLEAN AND CONTAINS 36 TO 37 PERCENT HYDROGEN, THE ENGINES HAVE NO CARBON OR VARNISH BUILDUP AND LAST 3 TIMES LONGER THAN IF THE SAME ENGINE WAS ONLY USING GASOLINE.
PROPANE FUELED ENGINES LAST AS LONG OR LONGER THAN DIESEL ENGINES, BECAUSE THE PROPANE FUEL IS SO PURE, WITH 1/3 HYDROGEN CONTENT.
THE BEST ADVANTAGE OF A MODERN PROPANE SYSTEM, IT USES LIQUID PROPANE INJECTORS AND PROPANE IS THE GREENEST AUTO FUEL BECAUSE IT DOES NOT REQUIRE REFINING, AS IT IS JUST SEPARATED OUT FROM THE OIL & NATURAL GAS AT THE OILFIELD WEEL HEAD AND PUT INTO STORAGE TANKS, RAILWAY CARS OR TRUCKS TO SHIP TO MARKETS.
Waiting for the new GMC ICE vans.
Mullen Automotive, #1 upcoming electric vehicle manufacturer.
We need more such van models to create a segment. In China there are many delivery vans with just 100 km range. This van with 175 km should be more than sufficient for many trips.
Rivian EDV used by Amazon has only 150 mile / 250 km range.
Mullen has a long way to go..
they bring this to the US but not the new montana this makes no sense at all
GM isn’t bringing this to the US, and it isn’t their product. It’s a product of a JV they have less than 50% of.