Niu: China’s Electric Scooter Giant Unveils a Car

The Chinese offensive on the automotive industry continues with Niutron, a new subsidiary of the electric scooter leader Niu.

Chinese Niu is one of, if not the leading manufacturer of electric scooters worldwide, but it also seeks its share in other markets. After introducing an electric motorcycle, electric scooters, and an electric assisted bike, the manufacturer continues to diversify.

Niu is indeed venturing into automobiles. After announcing last month that it would launch the Niutron brand, it revealed on Wednesday, January 12, the first images and initial details of its first model.

The Niutron “NV” will be a large, high-end 5-seater SUV, measuring 4.92 x 1.95 x 1.75 meters. In terms of aesthetics, the vehicle inherits the iconic circular daytime running lights of Niu, reminiscent here of the front face of the Ford Bronco. The rear and especially the profile resemble the Peugeot 5008, cocorico!

With or without range extender

Niutron remains relatively vague on technical specifications, but it is known that the four-wheel-drive vehicle will feature two electric motors that will accelerate it from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds, a good performance. The manufacturer does not specify range, but two versions are planned: one fully electric with a battery covering the entire floor, and another with a range extender, meaning a thermal engine that does not directly propel the car but generates electricity to power the motors or recharge the battery.

We have no information about the interior, but externally, we can note an ingenious feature: an indicator of the charge level integrated into the C-pillar.

Niutron announces that reservations will open in the first half of 2022 and that deliveries will begin in September 2022. It has not yet clarified whether it will immediately export its car internationally, but it nonetheless displays high ambitions. The manufacturer states that it already employs a R&D team of 1,000 people and operates a factory spanning 770,000 square meters. It aims for an annual production capacity of 180,000 units.

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