Man buys rickety Chinese electric truck from Alibaba for $3,000 and modifies it to charge for free
- US-based content creator bought Chinese electric truck from Alibaba
- He was protesting the increasing size of US pickup truck models
- He modified it to charge for free on solar power too
Published on Jan 19, 2025 at 7:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Jan 17, 2025 at 6:02 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
This US-based content creator bought a ‘rickety’ Chinese electric truck from Alibaba and modified it to charge for free on solar power.
‘Kei’ trucks or ‘keitora’ meaning ‘light trucks’, were first introduced in Japan in 1959.
These light vehicles are limited to specific size restrictions
‘Simple and easy to fix’, this one was modified to be even more cost-effective.
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Chinese electric truck
Believing that ‘pickup trucks don’t need to be this big’, Rich Benoit of Rich Rebuilds bought a $3,000 mini Chinese electric truck in protest.
“I’ve seen a lot of these on the internet, but never any four-door pickups, and I like the four-door because I have a family,” he said.
While the truck had some surprisingly modern tech like a ‘better backup camera than a McLaren’ and touchscreen, and a ‘huge bed’ – it had its downsides.
$3K Alibaba mini Chinese electric truck uses solar power
The EV was slow at a max speed of 32km/h (just under 20mph) but performed ‘decently’ off-road.
In addition, Benoit reports that it was poorly built with weak welds and zip-tied components.
“Everything here is literally zip-tied in. They didn’t even bother cutting the zip ties off of it,” he said.
“This is surprisingly dangerous underneath here. Forget the fact that it’s being held up by four pallets.”
Eek.
Modified to run on solar power
Massachusetts-based Benoit attempted some unconventional charging methods – including plugging in while driving, which is typically restricted in EVs – and even considers overhead railway-style charging.
Other Kei drivers have even experimented with strapping a jet engine to their Kei truck simply to see what would happen.
Ultimately, these ideas were scrapped in favor of a $100 solar panel that led to minor performance improvements, better battery recovery, and continuous passive charging while driving.
“When the sun is out, the battery’s always charging, and you get a little more power and quicker recovery time,” he explained.
The outcome: theoretically free charging for life.
Not bad for an Alibaba bargain.
Want more? A working solar electric vehicle by Aptera Motors was revealed at CES 2025.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
