JMEV 01 gets greenlit in China

Chinese IT corporation Xiaomi has successfully funded startup company Tianjin Gongjianpai, so the latter is now officially authorized to sell its first all-electric sports car, the JMEV 01, in China.

The first prototype of this car was built partly on Xiaomi money and revealed in 2022 (see video). The company announced mass production plans in early 2024, but hadn’t been able to obtain all the necessary certificates until now. It has also shuffled branding around underway to the production, as Chinese companies often do.

Specifically, when Tianjin Gongjianpai emerged as a sports car startup in China three years ago, it had its own brand named “Small Sport Cars”. Xiaomi was listed as one of its main investors, with one of the company’s executives listed as Tianjin’s Member of the Board of Directors.

The JMEV brand used to belong in equal share to Jiangling and Renault, but the French automaker didn’t like its financial performance in China and decided to cut its share in the company. With the JMEV factory currently running at one-third of capacity or so, Tianjin Gongjianpai apparently decided to contract it with a production order for the model 01 and adopt the “JMEV” brand name while at it.

Judging by the new images, the sports car still looks exactly as it did during the concept stage. It is sized 4,106 x 1,830 x 1,170 mm large and has 2,503 mm between the axles. The wheels are 18 inches large.

A chrome-molybdenum steel tube-frame and a rather compact battery make the EV comparable in weight to the Porsche Cayman. Its dual motors send 435 PS (429 hp / 320 kW) to all four wheels, allowing it to attain a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph).

Preorders are already running in China starting from 300,000 Yuan.