The New Electric Car Brand Possibly Landing in Australia

A trademark for the JMEV electric car brand has been filed in Australia, possibly heralding the arrival of yet another Chinese manufacturer in the local market. 

JMEV was established in 2015 by Jiangling Motors, producing their first car – the E100 electric hatchback – in March of that year. 

In 2019, JMEV became a joint venture when the Renault Group took a 50 percent stake in the company. 

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The JMEV brand primarily operates in China and Southeast Asia, along with select overseas markets, with its range consisting of the ELIGHT sedan – sold as the Yi Chi 05 in China – and the EV2 and EV3 hatchbacks positioned as affordable electric offerings. 

However, JMEV also offers the 01 – an MX-5-sized sports car financially backed by Xiaomi– as a Chinese market exclusive. 

The JMEV 01 features dual motor all-wheel drive and produces 320kW and 560Nm, good for a 0-100km/h time of 3.9 seconds, with a starting price in China of ¥300,000 (around $65,000 AUD). 

The brand is expanding elsewhere, most notably into Europe. In March of this year, plans were announced for JMEV to build an electric car factory in Serbia – where the Elight sedan is already sold – to facilitate the export of cars into European markets.  

The trademark registered on August 15th could mean that the Australian market is also part of this global expansion. 

However, plans for JMEV’s possible Australian debut are yet to be officially confirmed.