ROME – The first step in a new revolution for the electric car arrives from China. The first electric cars with sodium ion batteries have entered production in the world‘s largest automotive market.
The two small models are produced by Yiwei and JMEV. The first of the two compact electric vehicles is an electric car from the electric car brand Yiwei. The sodium ion batteries for Yiwei come from Hina Battery. The second model comes from the Jiangling Motors Electric Vehicle (Jmev) company, majority-owned by Renault, and is equipped with sodium batteries from Farasis Energy. Yiwei is a new electric vehicle brand under Anhui Jianghuai Automobile (Jac), founded in 2023.
In February 2023, JAC had already announced a first move towards installing lithium-free sodium-ion batteries in an electric vehicle. The vehicle was a Sehol E10X sedan. And according to new photos, the vehicle now entering production for Yiwei is apparently identical to the E10X.
At the time of the announcement these were the specifications indicated: capacity of 25 kilowatt hours and a total autonomy of 252 kilometers. For comparison, the Farasis Energy sodium ion batteries now installed on the Jmev EV3 allow a range of 251 kilometers. For the “normal” EV3 variant, which runs on a lithium-ion battery, a CLTC range of 301 kilometers is declared. Sodium-ion batteries are expected to take off due to their lower environmental impact and less reliance on expensive resources, however, performance is not yet comparable to that of lithium-ion batteries.