French car manufacturer Renault has finally unveiled its City K-ZE. The City K-ZE is a budget-friendly small sized electric vehicle based on the Renault Kwid hatchback. The concept EV was showcased earlier at the Paris Motor Show in 2018. The Renault City K-ZE is based on the CMF-A platform which is heavily localised in India and is used on the Renault Kwid and Datsun Redi-Go. The CMF-A platform will be heavily modified to accommodate the EV hardware. Renault will be jointly producing the City K-ZE with its Chinese partner Dongfeng Motors and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance at the Dongfeng facility in China.
The styling on the City K-ZE is based on the internal combustion engine powered Kwid and the production model will be very much like the concept EV shown earlier. The front features a radically designed grille and split vertically stacked headlight design and daytime running lights, black cladding on the doors and large squared off wheel arches on the side, and the roof is equipped with roof rails with a hint of blue. The rear has a redesigned bumper and LED tail lights with vertically mounted reflectors and faux skid plates.
Interiors of the Renault City K-ZE features dual airbags, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a digital instrument console. The onboard systems also include tyre pressure monitoring system and reverse sensors with a camera. The seats are upholstered in a dual colour – black and silver with most of its dashboard trim in black.
It is speculated that the City K-ZE will have a range of 250 km on a single charge. It will also include multiple charging modes while the slow charge takes 4 hours for the battery to get full, a fast charge function that can fill the battery up to 80% from 0 in less than 50 mins.
The Renault City K-ZE will be sold only in the Chinese market as of now, however, if Renault decides to bring the electric vehicle in India it will compete directly with the upcoming WagonR EV and Mahindra E2O.
Meanwhile, Renault is getting ready to introduce it’s Triber MPV soon in India.
