The cheap Kaiyi Shiyue has become the first-born of a new family, it will feature a brutal crossover

The Chinese company Kaiyi Auto, affiliated with Chery, has completely declassified and launched its cheapest model — the small city electric car Shiyue, it is quite the “adult” platform with a front-mounted electric motor will form the basis for other, larger Kaiyi models.

The Kaiyi lineup is expanding and becoming more independent from Chery, although Chery continues to be one of the shareholders of Kaiyi Auto and provides it with technological support. The subcompact urban electric hatch Kaiyi Shiyue, which entered the Chinese market today, has no direct relatives in the Chery lineup. Chery has all models of this type (including the current Chery QQ) — rear-engine and rear-wheel drive, and for the Kaiyi Shiyue a new platform was developed with a front-mounted electric motor and rear semi-independent suspension with a transverse torsion beam, the front suspension is of the McPherson type.

At the announcement stage, Kaiyi Shiyue was known under the code index i-EA 01, the commercial name Shiyue translated from romanized Chinese means “Get the Moon”. At today's presentation in China, the i-EA 01 index resurfaced in connection with the future family of inexpensive electric cars on the platform of the same name — i-EA: it will have an elongated five-door hatchback i-EA 02, an angular crossover i-EA 03 (future competitor to Baojun Yep and Geely Panda Mini Knight) and sports car/convertible i-EA 05.

The body of Kaiyi Shiyue is 65% made of high-strength steel, the overall length of the three-door hatchback is 3360 mm, width is 1700 mm, height is 1605 mm, wheelbase is 2160 mm. The cabin, with such modest dimensions, is designed for four adult passengers and there is even room left for the luggage compartment, its volume is 130 liters. The rear seatbacks, however, are thin, flat, with low integrated headrests.

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The exterior and interior design of Kaiyi Shiyue is reminiscent of smart #1 and smart #3, and Kaiyi Auto is not the first to copy the style of the German brand that has settled in China under the wing of Geely: the debut model of the Nammi brand, owned by the Dongfeng state corporation, also shamelessly quotes the latest “smarts”.

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Standard equipment on the Kaiyi Shiyue includes ABS, dual airbags, air conditioning, a 6.7-inch instrument screen, a 10.25-inch multimedia screen, a four-speaker audio system and leatherette upholstery.

The basic version of Kaiyi Shiyue, translated from Chinese, is called “Running on the Waves” and costs 53,900 yuan (664,000 rubles in translation at the current exchange rate), its electric motor produces 35 kW (48 hp) and 87 Nm, battery capacity is 17 .69 kWh, range on one charge — 201 km on the CLTC cycle, curb weight — 950 kg.

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The second and current version of “Chasing the Wind” costs 69,900 yuan (860 000 rubles), a more productive electric motor with a maximum output of 40 kW (54 hp) and 110 Nm is installed here, battery capacity is 28.08 kWh, range on one charge is 301 km according to the CLTC cycle, curb weight — 1040 kg. The maximum speed of both versions is limited to 100 km/h.

We add that Kaiyi Auto is still a modest player in the Chinese market: its sales in January-October of this year, according to CAAM (Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers), amounted to 31,206 cars, but this is 43.9% more compared to last year; such growth dynamics can only be envied.

Whether inexpensive Kaiyi trains on the i-EA platform will appear in Russia is still unknown, and if they do appear, it is clear that prices for Russian consumers, as usual, will increase significantly.