- The Changan Nevo E07 is a bizarre SUV-pickup-thing offered in China.
- It has a small 3-foot mattress and a midgate.
- It is type of formed like a Tesla Cybertruck, incomes it the nickname “Chinese language Cybertruck” in its dwelling nation.
China is type of kicking America’s ass in the case of making electrical vehicles. It makes extra of them than some other nation, packs them with attention-grabbing options and sells them on a budget. A lot of this is because of huge authorities subsidies of all types for the nation’s EV market. China might even make a greater Tesla Cybertruck than Tesla does.
OK, China doesn’t really 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 automotive market.
Based on Wheelsboy, the automobile has earned the nickname “Chinese language Cybertruck” in its dwelling nation. That is in all probability as a result of it is an electrical pickup and due to its slanted roofline and offbeat form. However I really 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 model has grown on me. On the one hand, I type of take pleasure in that such a daring, bizarre automobile exists. On the similar 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 method, 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 every one is dependent upon your temper and what it’s essential to try this day. At first look, the rear portion of the Nevo E07 appears similar to the again of some other slope-roofed crossover. (Or perhaps one thing weirder like a Pontiac Aztek.) Press a button, nevertheless, 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 simply round 3-feet lengthy. Examine that to the Ford Maverick at 4.5 ft. But it surely has one other social gathering 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 so much like what you’d get in an outdated 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 gained’t be hauling round something too enormous or heavy. However as a way of life automobile that may generally do gentle truck responsibility—for going tenting, to the seaside or shifting 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 principally, it’s due to Chinese language authorities insurance policies that discourage using 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 individuals discover the Cybertruck off-putting. Tesla’s truck is angular and made largely of flat items of chrome 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 “sufficiently big to be helpful, however not sufficiently big to blot out the solar.” I like that.
I’ll be sincere, the inside is bizarre, and never in a great way. It’s method too spartan for my tastes, and likewise seems to be virtually solely 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 type of electrical truck I may really see myself shopping for and utilizing. (That’s, if it have 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 an enormous, 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 a minimum of that Tesla takes some notes on it for Cybertruck 2.0.
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