Pure-electric Renault City K-ZE SUV set for Shanghai

A near production-ready version of the Renault City K-ZE SUV will be revealed later this month at the Shanghai motor show that's set to offer buyers a range of more than 250km.

Heavily based on the Renault City K-ZE concept that was unveiled at last year's Paris motor show, initially, the small zero-emission SUV will be offered in China-only before being rolled out to global markets later.

Set to be built at a factory jointly owned and operated by Nissan and Chinese car-maker, Dongfeng, it's tipped the small pure-electric SUV could prove a breakthrough vehicle for the brand.

Renault has already announced, as part of its Drive to the Future plan, by 2022 it will have eight pure-electric cars on sale and a further 12 plug-in, or mild hybrid vehicles on sale.

The City K-ZE will join the Twizy, Zoe, Kangoo ZE, Master ZE van and Korean only RSM SM3 ZE.

In the line-up, the tiny City K-ZE is expected to sit above the Twizy but below the Zoe hatch because the small SUV is fractionally smaller and will be priced accordingly.

Set to come with cut-throat pricing, the City K-ZE could also prove the breakthrough model for other emerging markets like India.

Despite its predicted bargain-basement pricing, the City K-ZE is set to get rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera and a large centrally mounted infotainment system,

Beneath the skin, the small SUV shares its Renault-Nissan CMF A platform with the popular Renault Kwid sold in India.

Differing from the Kwid, the versatile architecture sees the battery-powered SUV come with a unique front subframe and different axles compared to its petrol cousin.