The Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company (DFL-PV) launched its first pure-electric model in China, marketed as the Venucia e30. Despite the different name and badging, you’ll recognize it as the Nissan Leaf, sold under the Venucia brand for marketing purposes.
Launched with a starting price of RMB 267,800 ($43,700), the e30 is eligible for a purchase tax exemption as part of the Chinese government’s support for developing new energy vehicles. The new electric vehicle will initially be launched in nine Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dalian, Wuhan, Tianjin, Zhengzhou and Hangzhou) and is expected to be available nationwide in 2015. In the US, the Nissan Leaf starts from $29,010, before tax credits.
The Venucia e30 has seen five million kilometers of failure-free testing across China, racked up by more than 300 cars on the roads of Guangzhou, Xiangyang and Dalian. The e30 is said to achieve “an optimal balance between driving range, affordability and convenient charging.”
Dongfeng Nissan says that running costs for e30 are only about one-seventh of gasoline models of the same grade in China, as the e30’s energy consumption is only 0.146kWh/km. Both normal-charge and quick-charge options are available for e30, which can run about 60km (37 mies) on a quick-charge of only five minutes.
“With Nissan Global’s advanced technology, sales experience and know-how of electric vehicle, the Venucia e30 has been locally developed through our careful studies about market situations and consumer needs in China. I am looking forward to seeing the Venucia e30 lead China’s electric-vehicle market into the future and also to more development of new energy vehicles and the wide adoption of electric vehicles in China,” said Jun Seki, President of Dongfeng Motor.
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