North Carolina man buys the ‘cheapest new car in the world’ for $930 from Alibaba but is now finding out the real cost
- This is the Changli NEMECA costing just $930
- A North Carolina man bought it on China’s Alibaba
- But the purchase ended up costing him a lot more
Published on Dec 30, 2024 at 11:57 AM (UTC+4)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Jan 03, 2025 at 3:28 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A North Carolina man has bought the Changli NEMECA — the ‘cheapest new car in the world’ – on Alibaba for just $930.
A working car for under $1k is unmatched, so it’s understandable why he took the plunge.
Unfortunately, the real cost of the car was way higher.
But he would come to learn that later.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Buying the ‘cheapest new car in the world’
Jalopnik’s Jason Torchinsky bought an electric Changli NEMECA from Alibaba as his first new car.
He was stoked because it was so cheap.
Unfortunately, what he didn’t realize was the car would end up costing him a lot more thanks to batteries, shipping and customs, and ‘all kinds of tedious handling stuff’.
To cover the batteries, Torchinsky had to pay an additional $350.
Then there was the cost of shipping the car from China all the way to North Carolina.
READ MORE! Man reveals how he bought the cheapest Rolls-Royce Phantom in the UK
All in all, it cost him closer to $3,300 to buy the car.
That’s more than $930, but it’s still a lot less expensive than any other new car on the road.
Earlier this year, the Supercar Blondie team did something similar.
The team bought the world’s cheapest $2,000 pickup truck from China, and it too came with a few extra costs like shipping and handling.
Buying a new car on Alibaba
READ MORE! The cheapest car on eBay is a Pontiac Sunfire SE on sale for $500 in the US
When we got our hands on the world’s cheapest pickup truck, we unboxed it to find some pretty surprising features.
Made by Alibaba in China, the Chang Li Explorer came with electric windows, a reverse camera, and even a touch screen.
And with all that, it only cost $2000 (before all the sneaky shipping and handling costs).
You could buy about 50 of these for the same price as one Cybertruck.
The Changli NEMECA, which was delivered to Torchinsky in North Carolina, isn’t actually listed as a real car.
An official document describes it as a four-wheel electric tricycle, which is understandable given it has a max speed of 30km/h.
Despite its max speed, these little cars from Alibaba are proving quite popular.
In fact, one YouTuber was so impressed by his absurd little 1.1 horsepower beast that he bought nine more like it.
Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.
