Photo: Dongfeng
We know the automotive industry has to make the most of its projects: it is a way to amortize the investment as soon as possible. However, there should be a limit on how many versions a given project can have, especially in China. The Dongfeng Nanon Box is the seventh version of the Renault City K-ZE. European customers know it as the Dacia Spring.
Apart from these three, we also have the Renault Kwid E-Tech Electric in the Brazilian market, the Venucia e30, and three other Dongfeng models: the Aeolus EX1, Fengxing T1, and Fengguang E1. You do not have to know that much about them. Apart from the Nano Box, most of them are mostly badge-engineered versions of any of those vehicles that you happen to be familiar with.
The Nano Box manages to be the most original of the badge-engineered City K-ZE. It has a different front end than any of its brothers' thanks to plastic-molded components that are much cheaper to modify than steel parts. The rear end is pretty much the same for all of them for this reason.
If you are not familiar with any of these guys, the Dongfeng Nano Box is 3.73 meters (146.9 inches) long, 1.58 m (62.2 in) wide, 1.52 m (59.8 in) tall, and has a wheelbase of 2.42 m (95.4 in). Apart from the length and height, those are the same measures of the City K-ZE.
All these tiny electric cars use a 33 kW (44 hp) and a 26.8-kWh air-cooled battery pack. The only exception is the Dacia Spring, with the 27.4 kWh it can count on. Dongfeng promises the Nano Box can run 331 km (206 mi) in the Chinese test cycle.
The new version of the City K-ZE had a pre-sale price of RMB66,000 ($9,849 at the current exchange rate), and sales opened on June 17 in China. For that kind of money and able to accommodate four people, we’re sure customers worldwide may ask why there are not more badge-engineered variants that could be sold in their countries – at the same price, mind you. In Europe, the Dacia Spring starts at more than €18,000 ($18,768).
The Nano Box manages to be the most original of the badge-engineered City K-ZE. It has a different front end than any of its brothers' thanks to plastic-molded components that are much cheaper to modify than steel parts. The rear end is pretty much the same for all of them for this reason.
If you are not familiar with any of these guys, the Dongfeng Nano Box is 3.73 meters (146.9 inches) long, 1.58 m (62.2 in) wide, 1.52 m (59.8 in) tall, and has a wheelbase of 2.42 m (95.4 in). Apart from the length and height, those are the same measures of the City K-ZE.
All these tiny electric cars use a 33 kW (44 hp) and a 26.8-kWh air-cooled battery pack. The only exception is the Dacia Spring, with the 27.4 kWh it can count on. Dongfeng promises the Nano Box can run 331 km (206 mi) in the Chinese test cycle.
The new version of the City K-ZE had a pre-sale price of RMB66,000 ($9,849 at the current exchange rate), and sales opened on June 17 in China. For that kind of money and able to accommodate four people, we’re sure customers worldwide may ask why there are not more badge-engineered variants that could be sold in their countries – at the same price, mind you. In Europe, the Dacia Spring starts at more than €18,000 ($18,768).
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