This is a JAC Yiwei 3, as seen in the Chinese capital Beijing. Yiwei (钇为) is a new EV brand under JAC Motors. The brand was launched in 2023 and the Yiwei 3 is their first car. It is a cool, cute-looking hatchback with large round headlights, large mirrors, and aero wheels.
JAC Motors (JAC = Jianghuai Automobile Corporation) is a large locally state-owned automotive conglomerate founded in 1964 and based in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province. The company makes cars, buses, vans, trucks, pickup trucks, MPVs, and minibusses. JAC was early into the EV game, a bit too early perhaps. JAC launched its first electric vehicle back in 2011, long before the EV boom began. Sales were slow and JAC focused its attention on petrol-powered cars, but they always kept one or two EVs in the lineup.
In the meantime, JAC became the contract manufacturer of the high-end NIO EV brand. That pushed JAC to develop a new series of EVs, of which the Yiwei 3 is the first. The small electric hatchback segment is highly competitive in China, with many car makers competing mainly on price.
Note the EV3 branding on the seats. Originally, JAC wanted to call the car ‘JAC EV3’. Later on, JAC decided to create the Yiwei brand. For reasons unknown, JAC kept the original seat design. I saw this car in the summer of 2023, right after the Yiwei 3 was launched. So perhaps this is a first-batch car, with the seats manufactured before the name change.
The dash design is nice for the segment. It has a 15.6-inch main screen and a 6.2-inch instrument panel. The drive selector is mounted on the steering wheel column. The arm rest has a single wireless charger and a large storage space underneath.
The owner did some shopping. He bought bread, water, and instant noodles. The floor is flat and there is enough space for 3 folks on the bench. JAC sells four trim levels of the Yiwei 3: Lite, Champion, Air, Pro, and Pro +. These trim levels are further divided by range. The car that I saw is a ‘405km Lite’. This kind of complicated trim level system is typical for old-school state-owned companies. China’s newer EV makers mostly have more clearly arranged trim level levels.
The JAC Yiwei 3 405km Lite is a front-wheel drive car, the motor puts out 95 hp and 135 Nm. The top speed is 150 kilometers per hour. Electricity is stored in a 41 kWh LFP battery. The range is 405 kilometers, hence the time-level name. The JAC Yiwei 3 405km Lite costs 89.900 yuan and that is $12.4K. A lot is going on at the back. Let’s start with the round yellow sticker. The characters are 实习, shíxí, ‘to practice’. This sticker is often used in China by folks who just got their driving license, warning other road users to be careful. The characters on the bottom left are 江汽集团, Jiāngqì Jítuán, JAC Group.
This is a funny one. It is a similar sticker as the round one but with an extra focus on the fact that the new driver is a female. Like in the rest of the world, female drivers are believed to be more dangerous than male drivers in China, especially when new. Nobody thinks bad of these stickers and they are quite common. The top two characters are 实习 again, and the bottom three are 女司机, Nǚ sījī, and that means ‘female driver’. So be aware if you spot this Yiwei 3 on the road!
Finally: a cool blue E for electric with the characters 钇为 (Yǐwèi) and the number 3.
The JAC Yiwei 3 is a nice new competitor in a crowded field. JAC has big plans with the Yiwei brand. It will launch two new cars each year until 2026. Well, the more cars the better.