This $9,000 EV is about to take Mexico by storm: Meet Olinia
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- Claudia Sheinbaum unveiled Olinia on Sunday, calling it Mexico's first homegrown EV and pushing back on the idea that 'Mexico was only made for assembly plants,'
- Olinia was designed and built by TecNM, IPN, and Secihti research centers, with additional support from the Chinese embassy
- The six-seat compact car accommodates a wheelchair, runs on a 14.7 kWh LFP battery delivering 100 km (62 miles) of range, and tops out at 50 km/h (31 mph)
- Olinia charges via a standard three-phase household plug — roughly four hours at 220V and around eight hours at 110V, with a 7-inch infotainment screen and Bluetooth 5.0 inside
- Sales begin June 2027 starting at 150,000 pesos (~$8,600), and Sheinbaum says buyers will save up to 50,000 pesos (~$2,900) versus combustion engine vehicles
- Operating costs come to 49 centavos per kilometer, versus 2.40 pesos for a gas car and 1.00 peso for a motorcycle
- The EV enters a market already crowded by low-cost Chinese models like the BYD Dolphin Mini
Why it matters: At $8,600 and 49 centavos per kilometer, Olinia undercuts both gas cars (2.40 pesos/km) and motorcycles — a genuine mass-market play, not a prestige project. Its 100 km range and 50 km/h top speed target Mexican city and rural commutes, not highway driving, and it enters a market where Chinese EVs like the BYD Dolphin Mini are already gaining ground.
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