Dongfeng Nissan NX8 launched in China – EV with up to 650 km range or REEV with up to 1,450 km; fr RM93k

Dongfeng Nissan, a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Group and Nissan Motors, has launched the new NX8 in Japan. The new energy vehicle (NEV) SUV is the third model in the company’s N Series (the first SUV in this series) after the N6 and N7, and was previously previewed by the Epic Concept that made its debut two years ago at Auto Beijing (also referred to as Auto China).

The NX8 is a large SUV measuring 4,870 mm long, 1,920 mm wide, 1,680 mm tall and has a wheelbase spanning 2,917 mm. It sits five passengers and can be ordered as a full battery electric vehicle (BEV) or range-extended electric vehicle (REEV).

The former comes in four trim levels – 580 Pro, 580 Max, 650 Max and the Master Edition – priced between 159,900 and 209,900 yuan (about RM93k and RM122k). The first two feature a 400-volt electrical architecture and come equipped with a 73-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery sourced from Sunwoda that provide up to 580 km of range following the CLTC standard.

Nissan says the 580 Pro and 580 Max support 3C fast charging, with a 10-80% state of charge (SoC) achieved in just 17 minutes. Said battery powers a rear electric motor rated at 292 PS (288 hp or 215 kW) and 310 Nm of torque, enabling a 0-100 km/h time of 7.1 seconds.

As for the 650 Max and Master Edition, they get an 800-volt system for 5C fast charging as well as a larger 81-kWh LFP battery from CATL, which needs just 12 minutes to get from 10-80% SoC. Both are also rear-wheel drive but with more a more powerful electric motor making 340 PS (335 hp or 250 kW) – torque is the same at 310 Nm – for a quicker century sprint time of 6.7 seconds.

Of the two, the 650 Max offers the most electric-only range at 650 km (CLTC), while the Master Edition does up to 630 km. The latter does come with 20-inch wheels as standard, which may have an impact on range in addition to more equipment such as electronically controlled dampers that are exclusive to the range-topper.

Moving on to the REEV version of the NX8, there are just three trim levels offered – 150 Pro, 150 Max and 310 Max – going for between 159,900 and 179,900 yuan (RM93k and RM105k). These all share the same rear electric motor rated at 265 PS (261 hp or 195 kW) and 310 Nm, while the range extender is a 1.5 litre turbocharged inline-four making 148 PS (146 hp or 109 kW) and 225 Nm.

However, the batteries differ greatly among the three, with the base 150 Pro fitted with a 21.1-kWh LFP unit from Ruipu Lanjun that can fast charge from 10-80% SoC in 23.7 minutes. Meanwhile, the 150 Max’s battery comes from CATL and is also a LFP unit, but with a reduced energy capacity of 20.3 kWh and gets from 10-80% SoC ever so slightly quicker at 23.6 minutes.

Both the 150 Pro and 150 Max offer up to 150 km of pure electric driving range and up to 1,320 km of combined hybrid driving range. The 310 Max gets an even more substantial 43.2-kWh LFP battery from CATL that bumps its EV-only range to 310 km and hybrid range to 1,450 km. It’s also the quickest in getting from 10-80% SoC at 21 minutes. All versions of the NX8 come with an active grille shutter as well as a vehicle-to-load (V2L) system capable of outputting 6.6 kW.

In terms of available equipment, the NX8 can be had with OLED taillights capable of displaying 25 messages, a panoramic glass roof, 256-colour ambient lighting, zero-gravity front seats (with heating, ventilation and massage functions), up to 25 speakers, a refrigerator, dual 15.6-inch touchscreens (central and front passenger), a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a 63-inch augmented reality-enabled head-up display, a karaoke system and LiDAR-powered ADAS.

According to the company, sales of the BEV version of the NX8 has already started as of April 8, with deliveries of the REEV version set to begin later on from mid-to-late May this year.

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