Inspired by Tesla Inc.’s success in the capital markets and enticed by Beijing’s generous subsidies, electric vehicle startups have proliferated in China over the past few years. Many of them flamed out without ever rolling out a product. The coronavirus epidemic, largely kept under control since April in the country, has further weakened the economy and made it far more difficult for remaining EV startups to raise capital. 

In April, when China auto sales rebounded in the wake of the nationwide coronavirus outbreak, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers cautioned that industrywide deliveries this year may slip by more than 15 percent if the pandemic couldn’t be contained. What the trade group fretted about is materializing as the virus now poses genuine threats to the market’s recovery in two ways. 

The timing for the Wuling-badged minitruck’s arrival in the market couldn’t be better. The vehicle is meant specifically to support the “stall economy,” SAIC-GM-Wuling said on its social media site.