Chinese-made Nissan N7 mid-size sedan in contention

Nissan Japan is considering converting the Dongfeng Nissan N7 sedan to right-hand drive, potentially opening the door for the advanced EV to be sold in Australia.

According to CarNewsChina, the Dongfeng Nissan N7 was originally designed with Chinese consumers in mind, but the combination of its styling, premium cabin, advanced tech and ultra-fast charging means it’s now in contention for export markets.

On sale in China since late April, the N7 sedan has been priced from just 119,000 Chinese yuan ($A25,500).

Created to go head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3, the Chinese Nissan gets the firm’s Cloud Comfort cabin design that mixes cloud-patterned soft padded materials with microfibre and Alcantara for a premium feel.

There’s also a large 15.6-inch 2.5K touchscreen that is combined with a large digital instrument cluster.

Powertrains include a single e-motor that offers either 160kW or 200kW and is combined with a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack that provides a range of between 510km to 635km on the lenient CLTC Chinese test cycle.

Thanks to an ultra-fast DC charging capability, Dongfeng Nissan claims a 30 to 80 per cent top-up takes just 14 minutes.

Featuring smooth styling, a closed-off grille, split headlights, and a full-width LED light bar, at the rear of the car is a lighting system that can display animations for personalisation.

Just two 19-inch wheel designs are available, including an aerodynamic rim that boosts range.

Much bigger than the Tesla Model 3, the N7 measures in at 4930mm long, 1895mm wide and stands 1487mm high, with a wide 2915mm wheelbase. That makes it 210mm longer, 45mm wider, and 46mm taller than the world’s second-best-selling EV.

Fresh tech on the N7 includes Nissan’s latest operating system and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295P chipset that features AI integration, giving the car a powerful onboard assistant.

The Chinese-made Nissan includes a ‘Nature Harmony’ interface that interacts with the driver using sounds, visuals and touch.

The N7 also incorporates both car-makers’ latest driver-assist tech that was developed with China’s autonomous driving specialist, Momenta.

In China there are reports of long customer waiting times for the Nissan N7, which is winning buyers over by offering space from the class above with mid-size sedan pricing and some of the fastest charging, plus some of the most advanced tech in its class.

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