China is sort of kicking America’s ass in relation to making electrical automobiles. It makes extra of them than another nation, packs them with fascinating options and sells them on a budget. A lot of this is because of monumental authorities subsidies of every kind for the nation’s EV market. China might even make a greater Tesla Cybertruck than Tesla does.
OK, China doesn’t truly make something referred to as a Cybertruck. But it surely does make a bizarre automobile that reminds lots of people of Tesla’s shiny wedge of cheese. It’s referred to as the Changan Nevo E07, and I got here throughout a evaluate of it from the Wheelsboy YouTube channel, a wonderful supply of English-language content material on the Chinese language automobile market.
In line with Wheelsboy, the automobile has earned the nickname “Chinese language Cybertruck” in its house nation. That is most likely as a result of it is an electrical pickup and due to its slanted roofline and offbeat form. However I truly discover it a lot cooler and extra compelling than Tesla’s truck for numerous causes.
I’ve been seeing a lot of Cybertrucks round my EV bubble of Northern California. And whereas I don’t hate it or something like some within the automotive press do, I can’t say its type has grown on me. On the one hand, I sort of get pleasure from that such a daring, bizarre automobile exists. On the identical time, I discover it ungainly and never very charming.
The Changan Nevo E07 can be an oddball. However in a way more interesting and endearing means, I reckon.
I’ll lower to the chase right here, as a result of hands-down the best a part of the Nevo E07 is its mattress. Or trunk. That each one depends upon your temper and what it’s essential to try this day. At first look, the rear portion of the Nevo E07 seems identical to the again of another slope-roofed crossover. (Or perhaps one thing weirder like a Pontiac Aztek.) Press a button, nonetheless, and that slanted glass piece begins slides up towards the roof, creating an open pickup mattress.
The Changan Nevo E07 SUV.
From there, you possibly can drop the tailgate and cargo in no matter stuff it’s essential to haul round. The mattress is just round 3-feet lengthy. Evaluate that to the Ford Maverick at 4.5 toes. But it surely has one other get together trick: a midgate. The divider partitioning the cab from the mattress (rear glass and all) can fold down flat, opening up an entire bunch of additional mattress area. It is lots like what you’d get in an previous Chevy Avalanche or present Chevy Silverado EV.
Payload capability is available in at a mere 300 kilograms (661 kilos), based on Wheelsboy. So Changan house owners received’t be hauling round something too enormous or heavy. However as a life-style automobile that may generally do gentle truck obligation—for going tenting, to the seashore or transferring furnishings—it appears completely acceptable.
An idea model of the Changan pickup.
Within the video, Wheelsboy explains why this unusual SUV-pickup mashup exists within the first place. And mainly, it’s due to Chinese language authorities insurance policies that discourage the usage of true pickups. So as a substitute, you get an “SUV” that transforms, Optimus Prime-style, into some semblance of a truck.
So far as styling goes, a lot of folks discover the Cybertruck off-putting. Tesla’s truck is angular and made principally of flat items of stainless-steel. The Nevo E07 manages to look tremendous funky and futuristic, too, however with out the out-there proportions and dystopian vibes.
It’s a pleasant measurement, too. Wheelsboy describes it as barely longer than a Hyundai Santa Cruz, however an entire foot shorter than a Ford Ranger SuperCrew (the beefy, four-door mannequin). In different phrases, Wheelsboy stated, it’s “large enough to be helpful, however not large enough to blot out the solar.” I like that.
I’ll be trustworthy, the inside is bizarre, and never in a great way. It’s means too spartan for my tastes, and in addition seems to be nearly fully pink with little distinction. It wants some patterns, or different supplies, or shiny bits to spruce issues up.
That apart, this looks as if the sort of electrical truck I might truly see myself shopping for and utilizing. (That’s, if it had been ever offered within the U.S., which is uncertain due to the steep tariffs on Chinese language imported EVs.)
I don’t want an actual truck, however a small one to haul bikes and stuff in can be nice. Ideally, my little truck can be electrical or plug-in hybrid, however that doesn’t exist in America. Right here, you possibly can both get a small, cheap pickup that’s gas-powered (just like the Ford Maverick or Hyundai Santa Cruz)—or a giant, costly one which’s electrical (just like the Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado EV or Rivian R1T).
So right here’s hoping I should purchase a Changan Nevo E07 sometime—or at the very least that Tesla takes some notes on it for Cybertruck 2.0.
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