It was at last year’s Paris Motor Show when Renault unveiled the concept version of what we see here. Now, however, at the 2019 Shanghai Motor Show, the French carmaker has revealed the production version of it. What is it? The Renault City K-ZE – a battery-electric vehicle. You can recognise that shape, can’t you! Well, that’s because it is in close resemblance to what Renault sells in India – the Kwid.

The Renault City K-ZE is targeted at the entry-level Chinese car market. It is, in fact, Renault’s first A-segment 100 per cent electric vehicle (EV). The hunkered-up, Kwid-like stance is unmissable. And so are the dual headlamp enclosures and a redesigned front grille. The City K-ZE boasts a 2,433mm wheelbase, 150mm of ground clearance, and a 300-litre boot. Compared to the India-spec Kwid, the wheelbase is 11mm longer, the ground clearance is 30mm less but the boot space is identical.

As far as the electric powertrain is concerned, the Renault City K-ZE boasts a 45PS/120Nm electric motor. Although the size of the battery is unknown for now, Renault claims that the architecture does support multiple charging modes. In fast charge mode, the battery-pack can juice-up from zero to 80 per cent in 50 minutes. In slow charge mode, Renault says that battery will take about 4 hours to charge completely. Surprisingly, the official travel range is still under wraps.

On the features front, the Renault City K-ZE has LED DRLs, a rear-view camera, tyre pressure monitoring system and an air quality control system with PM 2.5 sensors. There’s more. The uncluttered dashboard houses an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system which, apart from media playback, also has built-in navigation and shows real-time numbers for EV features. Apart from that, there’s voice recognition and 4G Wi-Fi, which can be used to stream online content.

Would you like to see it in India? Well, we might just be lucky enough to get it. However, neither will it be in the same spec and nor will it come anytime soon. The Chinese market is the biggest one on the planet for EVs. Hence, it only makes sense for Renault to test waters with the City K-ZE in the people’s republic. India, on the other hand, is yet to find a balanced approach to attract substantial investments from established players in electrified mobility solutions.