Here we have a pretty Longci Tricycle, a 3-wheel electric vehicle with five doors. It looks brilliantly cool in red-white two tone paint, with a bull bar, a sun roof, a roof rack, a shiny grille, and a large single windshield wiper.
The Longci Tricycle was made by a company called Shandong Longqi New Energy Technology (山东龙启新能源科技有限公司), based in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province. The Longqi (龙启) name refers to a dragon, as can be seen on the rather beautiful logo. The brand name was Longci Electric (龙启电动, Longqi Diandong).
There were lots of cool stickers too, like this one, saying ‘Happy Every Day Life’. And the tricycle is indeed an everyday car. Most of these are used as private cars, for going to the market and such, but they are also commonly used as taxi’s, especially in smaller cities.
The decals are too cool. Main decal on the door: 龙启电动, Longqi Diandong.
In China, cars like these are referred to as ‘low speed electric vehicles’, or LSEVs. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of small companies that make this sort of EVs, and many of those are based in Shandong Province. These companies come and go, and it seems that Longqi New Energy Technology is no longer around.
I saw this car in 2016, in 2018/19 the company had moved on to four-wheel vehicles, and then they seemingly vanished, and their website is down. This is very common in the LSEV business were companies go bust, take over, merge, re-emerge, and whatnot more.
The roof rack had cool stickers too. →E-BIKE CITY POWER.
A slightly different variant of the dragon logo, this one in red and spitting fire, with the Longqi name in Chinese and Pinyin.
The brand name on the other door was written the other way around: 动电启龙. This is quite common. Not 100% sure why. I remember someone telling me car makers in Shandong believe it brings luck.
The cartoon is also a typical bring-luck thing. It shows a tiny dragon-like fellow. The characters read 幸福珠车, Xingfu Zuche, best translated as (wish you) happiness, dwarf car.
Design of the Longqi Tricycle was quite comprehensive, with large windows, trendy rear lights, a third-brake lights, and even an integrated window spoiler.
Sadly, since the company is no longer alive, I haven’t been able to find any specifications. Generally, this kind of LSEV may have some 5-10 horsepower, a lead-acid battery, a range of about 50 kilometers, and a top speed of about 40 kilometers an hour. Charging at 220V takes about 9 hours. Prices vary a lot depending on battery and equipment, but a basic car like the Longqi Tricycle can be had for some 7500 yuan.
The Longci logo, in silver this time, on the charging port cap.
These cars are brilliant inside. It has a motorcycle handlebar and a partially digital instrument panel. This one had a floor-based brake pedal, but other tricycles have handbrakes. There is a mirror on the right side of the windshield. Great visibility all around thanks to the large windows. It has four seats with two seats up front and two in the back. The front seating situation is a bit uncomfortable for the driver. With a passenger, the driver sits off-set, which looks really weird when you see it for the first time.
Some nice faux-wood detailing on the dash and the doors. Seat has a classy pattern.
In big cities like Beijing tricycles like this are mostly banned to the faraway suburbs. I saw this one In Dongba District just outside the eastern section of the Fifth Ring Road, where I lived at the time. But in smaller cities in the interior you may find small tricycles all over the place.