Nikkei is reporting that Renault is planning an
electric variant of the Renault Kwid for China. The idea is to build a
low-priced A-Segment vehicle for urban residents who don’t drive long
distances. The report, which doesn’t go into specifics, says Nissan will have
its own version, and the low-range A-Segment electric car was confirmed to the
publication by Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa.
The EV will target metro cities like Beijing and
Shanghai and could arrive next fiscal year. Renault and Nissan’s Chinese
alliance partner Dongfeng Motor will make the model to keep production costs
low, and thanks to the shared platform and localization, the Nissan version of
the car is expected to cost about US$ 13,200. The report adds
that Mitsubishi could also get access to the platform to spawn its own vehicle
giving the alliance a very high scale.
Nissan’s next EV is the all-new Leaf that debuts in
Japan on September 9. The flagship EV which comes with a higher range that will
enable users to drive between cities on a full charge opens up a niche below
for low priced EVs, the company believes.
The Chinese government has been offering generous subsidies
for electric cars and as soon as 2019, will introduce a measure that mandates
car companies to have a certain volume of EVs as part of the total output.
