The red electric sedan in these photos is a brand new model from JMEV. Although that sounds very Chinese, given the role that Renault plays, the car is also relevant for the European market.
We welcome: the Yi. The Yi is a fully electric sedan about which little is known. In fact, JMEV does not even report how big the Yi is and keeps their lips together about the technique. Still, the Yi is interesting, we’ll explain why.
Yi is the definitive Chinese name of JMEV’s electric sedan whose pre-production version was previously presented as GSE. JMEV is a brand founded in 2015 by the Chinese state-owned company Jiangling Motors that only makes and develops electric cars. At the end of 2018, it was announced that Renault would take a significant stake in JMEV. The deal was finalized in mid-2019 and Renault was allowed to call itself 50 percent owner of JMEV. Jiangling Motors and a Chinese investment fund control 37 and 13 percent of the YMEV strings, respectively.
Renault’s Mobilize
Of course, the fact that Renault has the largest share in JMEV does not make the car a Renault. Nevertheless, we will eventually see the car – possibly adorned with the Renault emblem – in Europe. As part of its future strategy Renaulution, Renault presented Mobilize at the beginning of this year. Mobilize is a new industry of the French that is engaged in sustainable and shared forms of mobility. This includes not only telephone applications, but also electric car sub-programs. Mobilize immediately released an image of what it has in store for us. Mobilize, for example, will offer the Dacia Spring through car-sharing programs and electric vans are also part of Mobilize. One of the cars in the released photos was an electric car that was to be developed in collaboration with JMC. You see that car in these photos and will therefore be called Yi in China. How Mobilize will offer the model in Europe is not yet known. Mobilize would, however, start using the electric car around 2022. JMEV now confirms in black and white that the Yi will not only be on the market in China, but will also be “a Renault model on the European market”.
Although similarities with the Tesla Model 3 are clearly visible, JMEV says it was mainly inspired by animals. The side view is said to have been inspired by a cheetah and the “hidden door handles have the shape of a flying kingfisher”. The shape of the taillights is said to be inspired by Peng, a bird from Chinese mythology who could transform into a giant fish. The JMEV Yi will soon be produced in Nanchang, China. Definitive specifications are not yet available. However, the car presented as GSE would be available with a 47 kWh battery pack and with a unit that offers 59 kWh. The model name GSE may return to the Renault variant coming to Europe.