Renault has just launched a small electric city car in China, as part of its JMEV joint venture. Called Xiaoqilin, it should be even more affordable than a Dacia Spring.
If Chinese brands are more and more numerous here, French manufacturers are also present in the Middle Kingdom. This is particularly the case of Renault, which joined forces with the Jiangling firm to create the JMEV joint venture.
Responsible for producing and selling cars on the territory, it notably markets the GSE, known in Europe as the Mobilize Limo. But now another model has just made its appearance, in the form of a very accessible small city car.
A minimum endowment
Baptized Xiaoqilin, this newcomer is currently only intended for the Chinese market. Inspired by the JMEV EV3 but also by the Honda Jazz in its lines, it displays more than contained dimensions, with a length of only 3.50 meters long as the site explains. Autohome.
This is six centimeters less than the Renault Twingo electric currently marketed here and 23 less than our Dacia Spring. This newcomer has a wheelbase of 2.34 meters, while the trunk volume has not yet been communicated. With four doors, the city car can then accommodate no less than five people on boardwhile it measures 1.64 meters wide and 1.46 meters high.
In total, three colors will be offered to customers, namely two shades of green and white. On board, the presentation is very rudimentary, since this Xiaoqilin displays a fairly basic staffing. No touch screen, just a standard audio system equipped with a small LCD screenwhile climate controls take the form of physical buttons.
On the other hand, the driver can take advantage of a digital handset again quite spartan, while the charging ports for the smartphone. At the rear, the bench seat can tilt slightly, without specifying the maximum angle.
A possible arrival in Europe?
Under its hood, this new JMEV Xiaoqilin features a 35 horsepower electric motor, combined with an LFP battery whose capacity has not yet been revealed. We also do not know the autonomy or the maximum power of the recharge, but this should be quite low. As our Chinese source specifies, the city car does not have a charging port compatible with direct current.
For comparison, thea Dacia Spring claims 44 horsepower and can travel up to 230 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle, thanks to its battery of 26.8 kWh net. It can then collect a power of up to 30 kW in direct current.
Positioned between the Romanian city car and the recently formalized Mobilize Duo, this JMEV Xiaoqilin has not yet announced its prices. But there is no doubt that these should be very affordable, probably around 10,000 euros like its rival, the Tiago.ev unveiled a few weeks earlier by Tata Motors.
It remains to be seen whether it will one day be imported into Europe. If so, it could then join the fleet of the Zity car-sharing service, for example, or integrate the Mobilize range like the Limo.
To follow us, we invite you to download our Android and iOS application. You can read our articles, files, and watch our latest YouTube videos.