![Today Sunshine Mine M1 EV viral in Malaysia]()
This little 3-door EV with its many bright colour options is going viral in Malaysia because people, especially women, cannot get over how cute it is. It’s called the Mine M1 LSEV, manufactured by a company named Today Sunshine, and believe it or not, it’s not actually a car, at least not according to Chinese regulations.
The Mine M1 first made its appearance in the 2017 Jinan EV Show, and under Chinese laws, it is technically a four-wheeled electric scooter. If you have been to China before, you would know that electric bicycles and scooters are loosely regulated and you often see bicyclists riding on highways and main roads taking up large portions of roads without protection of even a helmet.
![Today Sunshine Mine M1]()
Since the Mine M1 falls into the same category, owners are not even required to get a registration number plate to drive it on the road. In China, the 3-door EV is even considered an elderly scooter as it gives the elderly with restricted body movements an alternative to riding a scooter or a bicycle.
With its higher ride height, LED headlamps complete with LED daytime running lights, and leather seats, it is definitely a more comfortable contraption than riding a scooter. And it is also convenient to buy as you can easily order it off Taobao.
![Today Sunshine Mine M1 on Taobao]()
If you think the Mine M1 bares a lot of resemblance with a MINI, you’re not wrong. From the front grille, to the shape of the headlights, and even the English flag details along with the colour scheme paired with a black roof, it will immediately remind you of the MINI Paceman.
In fact, the EV is named as a parody of the word “mini” as “mine” in Chinese is pronounced as “mee-né” which is very close to “mi-ni”.
![Today Sunshine Mine M1 EV]()
According to the Today Sunshine’s European website, the EV is on sale in UK, Spain and France. It is powered by a 4.5 Kw engine allowing for speeds of 50 km/h, and has a range of 198 km. In China, the EV offers 2 types of batteries, the cheaper M1 will run on lead-acid while the more expensive variants get a lithium-ion that has a top speed of 60 km/h.
The EV measures in at 2,830 x 1,500 x 1,565 in length, width, height and 1,815 mm in wheelbase, which makes it even shorter than the Perodua Axia that measures at 3,645 x 1,620 x 1,510 mm, but the Mine is slightly taller by 55 mm.
The Mine M1’s interior has everything that a standard car cabin would boast like air-conditioning, radio, mobile phone charging, reverse camera and even a digital instrument to boot. And according to the website, the 2-tone leather seats can also be adjusted when you need to extend the boot space.
Would you purchase this quirky little EV? Which colour will you pick?
