This is the Beijing EX3 R600, a Chinese electric car. I saw this Cold Blue EX3 in the Chinese capital Beijing in the summer of 2023. It is one of the strangest-looking Chinese EVs I have ever seen.
Beijing is a brand under the Beijing Auto Industry Corporation (BAIC) Group. When the BX3 launched, BAIC sold a confusing line-up of ICE, PHEV, and EV vehicles, which didn’t seem to have much in common. But the design of all the other cars was mostly original.
However, the design of the EX3 was heavily inspired by the Chevrolet Bolt, albeit with differences like the heavy-set black front and the door-mounted mirrors. The EX3 and the Bolt are nearly the same size too:
EX3: 4200/1780/1638, 2585.
Bolt: 4166/1765/1595, 2601.
The interior was original, it had nothing to do with the Bolt. We have seen that before. Chinese car makers copy the exterior, with their own and more modern interior. The Beijing EX had a 12.3-inch instrument panel and a 9-inch touch screen. The screen didn’t do much. Most functionalities were controlled via switches at the center stack and buttons on the center tunnel. The drive selector was on the center tunnel as well. The owner of this car added fancy seat covers.
Specifications
The shiny R600 badge with a blue R.
The Beijing EX3 was a front-wheel drive single-motor electric car. The output of the electric motor was 160 kW and 300 kW. The top speed was 150 km/h and 0-100 took 7.9 seconds.
The R600 model had a ternary lithium battery with 60 kWh, hence the R600 name. The energy density was 160.8 WH/KG, the consumption was 13.5 kWh/100 km and the range was 501 kilometers. Fast charging took 30 minutes.
Character time: 北汽集团, Běiqì Jítuán, BAIC Group.
Price and legacy
The Beijing EX3 launched in April 2020 and production ended in January 2021. Sales were terrible, to put it mildly. The best month was July 2020, when Beijing sold 110 units. In most of the other months, it was less than 10 (!). Really an odd one. I visited many Beijing dealers at the time, but none ever had an EX3 on display.
It was likely one of the many ‘compliance cars’ at the time, launched to bring down overall emissions to avoid higher taxes. It was all pretending, of course, but this kind of policy did, in the end, make China the largest EV market in the world.