An unexpected star is disrupting China’s electric vehicle market

More: Renrenche could sell for US$1,290, India gets powered up with 5G, and Google gets dealt its biggest antitrust lawsuit yet. [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} When was the last time you took a risk? For me, it was leaving my cushy corporate job - a decision for which I’ve no regrets. It’s only in adversity that we find clarity, and I realized I’d be better off channelling my energy into work that I actually cared about. While the pandemic has worn us thin, it’s also brought new opportunities to light. In China, an unexpected star has risen: the US$4,200 micro electric vehicle. With price sensitivity a growing concern for consumers amid Covid-19, the car’s timely arrival has set the stage for change in the nation’s new electric vehicle market (NEV). Today, we look at: - How micro EVs could soon supplant China’s fleet of low-speed electric vehicles - A newly backed Indian startup that’s helping small merchants go digital - Other newsy highlights such as former Chinese tech unicorn Renrenche’s early talks to sell for US$1,290, and Jio and Qualcomm’s 5G plans for India ---------------------------------------------------------------  PREMIUM SUMMARY  China’s US$4,200 car is shaking up China’s NEV market China’s NEV market had flourished up until the government’s decision last year to phase out subsidies for NEVs by 2022. But the Hongguang Mini EV - a joint venture between the SAIC-affiliated Wuling Motors and US carmaker General Motors - is giving the market a much needed boost. The boxy car wins neither in looks nor range and has no safety features like airbags. So how has this [humble contender in China’s electro-mobility scene]( come up on top? - The new people’s car: According to Wuling Motors, around 40% of its customers are between 20 and 30 years old. The Chinese automaker, which also manufactures micro vans and micro pickups, aims to make its micro EV affordable for everyone - as opposed to being a Tesla rival. The Hongguang Mini EV retails for US$4,200, or one-tenth of what Tesla’s Model 3 costs. - Small margins, big quantities: Wuling Motors designs its vehicles based on a target retail price, which is further reduced by scaling up its production. Clearly, it’s a winning strategy: For the month of August, sales figures for the Hongguang Mini EV came in at second place on a top 10 list of the best-selling EV models within China. - The end days for LSEVs?: China’s micro EVs are unlikely to disrupt the luxury EV market. Instead, industry experts reckon that these vehicles could eventually supplant the country’s fleet of low-speed electric vehicles (LSEVs), which sell an average of one million units a year in China alone. And if micro EV makers do expand into overseas markets, they’ll first need to meet the safety standards of these countries, such as installing airbags in vehicles. Read more: [The new people’s car in China: Micro EVs](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUP SPOTLIGHT Amid a court battle, India-based startup Dukaan bags seed funding Dukaan, an India-based DIY platform, has netted US$6 million [in a seed funding round]( led by Matrix Partners India and Lightspeed India Partners. The news comes on the back of Dukaan’s court battle with Khatabook, an online bookkeeping app for small businesses, over an alleged copyright violation. Khatabook is backed by Sequoia India. - A chance at success: Dukaan was founded in May 2020 by Suumit Shah, Subhash Choudhary, Kaustub Pandey, and Anurag Meena. Its platform enables small merchants with no programming skills to set up online stores in 30 seconds. These businesses can then share their store link through social media channels, giving them a far wider reach than before. - Opportunity amid adversity: The company says it has seen a surge in merchants adopting its platform since the onslaught of Covid-19, with around 2.7 million clients in India alone. Dukaan also claims to have helped merchants on its platform generate a gross merchandise value of some US$13.6 million in the past three months. - An ambitious game plan: Dukaan’s end goal is to serve 60 million small- and medium-sized merchants in India across categories such as books, consumer goods, groceries, fashion, electronics, and personal services. In the meantime, the startup will be working to expand its business and product suite. Read more: [Indian DIY startup Dukaan bags seed funding from Matrix, Lightspeed](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Broke and desperate, Chatri once lived on $4 a day Chatri Sityodtong (right) and his mom (middle). Photo credit: Screengrab from “The Chatri Sityodtong Story” Chatri Sityodtong was once the poorest person in class. Today, he’s the CEO of a company worth more than a billion dollars. And he has [a story to share](. Sityodtong pretty much went through hell and back. He was penniless, homeless, jobless, and even had to sneak his mom into his school’s dorm room because they didn’t have anywhere to go. After graduation and with no money, he did something unthinkable: He started a company. Sityodtong’s mom wasn’t pleased, but she stuck with him. “He started an internet software company in San Francisco. We were very poor. We couldn't afford to buy beds, so we slept on sleeping bags on the floor and had US$1 frozen food as our meals,” she shared. Thankfully, that venture turned out well. A stint at Wall Street and three decades later, Sityodtong is now building a sports media company which counts Sequoia Capital and Temasek as investors. Our summary doesn’t quite do justice to [Sityodtong’s life story](. If you don’t feel positive about 2020, we hope his story can inspire you. P.S.: Sityodtong’s mom has some wise words for us: “Be humble, so you can see well."  ---------------------------------------------------------------  QUICK BITES  1️⃣ Tech unicorn Renrenche could sell for US$1,290 Chinese second-hand car trading platform Renrenche could be sold for [just over US$1,000](. The Beijing-based ex-unicorn last raised a US$300 million Goldman Sachs-led round in 2018.  2️⃣ India’s getting powered up with 5G The world’s second-largest mobile market could soon be home to a 5G-powered network. Jio Platforms and Qualcomm [are partnering up]( to expedite the development of the high-speed network infrastructure in India.  3️⃣ Jack Ma holds the top spot as the richest Chinese individual For the third consecutive year, Alibaba founder Jack Ma has topped the Hurun China Rich List 2020. The entrepreneur’s wealth [rose 45% to US$58.8 billion]( in 2020, thanks to Ant Group’s impending IPO and healthy sales figures from Alibaba’s ecommerce platforms. Coming in second place is Tencent founder Pony Ma, whose wealth grew 50% to US$57.4 billion.  4️⃣ More moolah for Shouqi Yueche The Beijing-based ride-hailing platform has closed its series C round for [an undisclosed amount]( that’s reportedly in the vicinity of “hundreds of millions of US dollars,” according to 36Kr. In its series B+ round in 2017, Shouqi banked US$105 million from the likes of Baidu and Nio Capital - the VC arm of electric vehicle maker Nio.  5️⃣ US sues Google for monopolistic behavior The US Department of Justice has filed an [antitrust lawsuit]( against Google for employing anti-competitive tactics to maintain its monopoly. The search engine giant has come under heavy scrutiny for antitrust issues in recent years, with Australia, India, and Japan [taking a stand]( against the tech company’s questionable practices.  6️⃣ More funding for Indian startup Slintel Slintel, a California- and Bengaluru-based startup, [has raised US$4.2 million]( in a funding round led by Accel, with participation from Sequoia Capital India and existing investor Stellaris Venture Partners. This follows its US$1.5 million seed round last December. The company focuses on connecting clients with high-intent buyers in their markets, and said it recorded its biggest quarterly earnings in Q3 2020.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING - Meet the Fintech Firms Shaping the Future of Finance on Wednesday, October 28 The future of finance seems to be in the hands of the fintech innovators, though this lead wasn’t exactly handed to them. Hear from the chief technology officers defining this future as we explore fintech trends over the next 12 to 18 months and the infrastructure required to make them a reality. [RSVP now.]( - CTO Forum - Smart Growth: Best Practices for Rapid-Scaling on Thursday, October 29 Engineering leaders, you’re in luck! We’ve brought in engineering leaders from Sequoia Capital India, TradeGecko, and Amazon Web Services to share their best practices in scaling their engineering teams. You can [sign up to attend here](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING - [Software Test Engineer]( at Accellion Pte Ltd (Singapore, Singapore) - [Partnership Manager]( at Amartha (Jakarta, Indonesia) - [Bot Builder]( at ChatAja (Bandung, Java, Indonesia)  --------------------------------------------------------------- Don’t leave your co-workers behind! Share this with them so that they can keep up with what’s going on in the region’s tech scene. Feel free to [drop us feedback]( if our newsletter today got you feeling smarter (or if it didn’t). Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good kopi. Today’s edition is written by Rebecca Liew, with contributions from Nicole Jao and Doris Yu. It’s edited by Jaclyn Teng. To ensure that you don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis, add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe](. ---------------------------------------------------------------  Copyright © 2020 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 51 Bras Basah Rd, #05-5061, Singapore 189554