Believe it or not, a solar powered car is on sale in China. Shown at the 29th (!) Zhejiang International Bicycles and Electric-powered Cars Exhibition in Hangzhou, eastern China, the vehicle is a cheap and dirty clean way to get around. According to an engineer, the solar cells can absorb 95 percent of the solar energy coming in, although they can only convert 14 to 17 percent into electricity to recharge the batteries. Recharging time? About 30 hours to get the maximum 150 km (90 mi) range. However, if you're in a hurry, you can always get energy for 5 km in just one hour. Around 10 units have been produced thus far by Zhejiang 001 Group. The sticker price is quite a bargain for a solar NEV: 38,000 yuan (US$5,560). If you think this car is familiar, that's because it looks like a Chery QQ (which is itself a Daewoo Matiz clone) that was made into an electric model by DianZi.

[Source: Gasgoo via Le Blog Auto]