GM venture's mini car becomes China's most sold EV, surpassing Tesla's Model 3

By Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh

BEIJING (Reuters) - A micro electric vehicle (EV) by General Motors' (NYSE: GM) local Chinese joint venture becomes the most sold EV model in China, with 15,000 cars sold in China last month, followed by Tesla Inc's (NASDAQ: TSLA) 11,800 Model 3 sedans, industry data showed.

The model, the Hongguang MINI EV, is a two-door micro electric vehicle launched by the joint venture between GM, SAIC Motor Corp <600104.SS> and another partner, SGMW, in July.

The starting price for the Hongguang MINI EV is 28,800 yuan ($4,200), less than 10% of the 291,800 yuan starting price for Tesla's China-made Model 3 vehicles before they get government subsidies.

GM's new China boss Julian Blissett told Reuters in August that it would renew its focus on luxury Cadillacs, roll out bigger but greener sports-utility vehicles (SUVs) and target entry-level buyers with low-cost micro electric vehicles.

Tesla sold 11,000 Shanghai-made Model 3 vehicles in China in July, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). CPCA uses a different counting method than Tesla's official deliveries. Tesla and GM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; editing by David Evans and Louise Heavens)

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