Tag Archives: EVs

NEW CARS

Kosmera Nebula 1 Is a 1,876-HP Electric Sedan

If you squint at the Kosmera Nebula 1 long enough, you might forget that it comes from Dreame—a company better known for keeping dust bunnies in check than for chasing lap times. But here we are, at CES in Las Vegas, staring at a low-slung, four-door electric concept that looks less like a tech demo and more like a serious shot across the bow of the established performance-EV elite.

The Nebula 1 still wears a dramatic silhouette, but the overdone hypercar cosplay seen in earlier teasers has been dialed back. What’s left is something leaner and more athletic, with proportions that feel closer to a modern Lotus than a sci-fi prop. Yes, there’s a hint of Bugatti-like drama in the C-pillar kink, but the nose is far more Ferrari F8 Tributo than Chiron horseshoe. Importantly, it doesn’t read as a copy of any single car—which, in today’s copy-paste concept landscape, is a small victory in itself.

Despite having four doors, the Nebula 1 screams supercar more than sedan. The roofline is low, the stance is wide, and the carbon-fiber lower aero package looks ready to scrape a pit lane apron. A motorsport-style wing perched on the trunk lid suggests that Kosmera isn’t shy about its track-day ambitions, even if this thing is still very much a concept.

Those ambitions are backed up by some appropriately unhinged numbers. The Nebula 1 packs a quad-motor electric drivetrain producing a claimed 1,876 horsepower (1,399 kW). Zero to 62 mph (100 km/h) allegedly takes just 1.8 seconds, putting it squarely in the same performance bracket as China’s growing list of electric heavy hitters, including the Yangwang U9 and Xiaomi SU7 Ultra—and, frankly, faster than anything most legacy European brands are currently selling.

Things get a bit murkier when you zoom out. Alongside the Nebula 1, Kosmera teased two additional four-door cars at CES. One appears to be a close relative—possibly another flavor of the Nebula concept—while the third has a longer dash-to-axle ratio and two visible filler flaps. That detail strongly suggests a front-engined plug-in hybrid, which would mark a notable departure from the Nebula 1’s all-electric bravado.

For now, the Nebula 1 remains an exterior-only concept, with no interior shown and plenty of unanswered questions. According to company leadership, production is planned for later this year, potentially at a facility in Berlin, not far from Tesla’s Gigafactory. Final specs, equipment, and—critically—pricing are still up in the air.

But if Kosmera manages to deliver something close to what it’s promising here, and prices it in the same neighborhood as the SU7 Ultra, the Porsche Taycan could be in for an even rougher time than it’s already having. It’s a strange world when a vacuum cleaner company is building a four-door electric missile—but then again, the EV era has a way of sucking up old assumptions.

Source: CarNewsChina via YouTube

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Nissan Revives Its Playful Side with the Pike-Inspired Electric Wave

Nissan is about to dive back into the European city-car pool, and this time it’s bringing a sense of humor—and history—with it. The company’s upcoming electric runabout will be called Wave, a name that feels breezy, friendly, and intentionally un-serious. That’s fitting, because the Wave is shaping up to be Nissan’s most character-driven small car in years, blending modern EV pragmatism with a design playbook lifted straight from the brand’s late-’80s cult classics.

Due next year, the Nissan Wave will be built by Renault alongside the electric Twingo, with which it shares its basic architecture. This is less badge engineering and more personality swap: same bones, different soul. And if Nissan gets it right, the Wave could do for the city-EV segment what the original Pike cars did for Japanese kei-adjacent oddities—make people smile before they even check the spec sheet.

Pike’s Peak Nostalgia

According to Nissan Europe design boss Giovanny Arroba, the Wave will take inspiration from the brand’s legendary Pike cars—a series of retro-styled small vehicles developed by Nissan’s Pike Factory special projects group in the late 1980s and early ’90s. If that sounds niche, it is—but in the best possible way.

Cars like the Be-1, Pao, Figaro, and S-Cargo were based on the first-generation Micra and leaned hard into exaggerated 1950s design cues: exposed hinges, bold door handles, side strakes, and proportions that bordered on cartoonish. They weren’t subtle, and they weren’t meant to be. When the Be-1 debuted at the 1985 Tokyo motor show, demand was so overwhelming that Nissan had to use a lottery system to decide who got to buy one of the 10,000 cars allocated for production.

That kind of enthusiasm is exactly what modern EVs—especially affordable ones—often lack.

Same Platform, Different Vibe

Under the skin, the Wave will ride on a shortened version of Renault’s AmpR Small platform, the same architecture underpinning the new electric Twingo. That means a tidy footprint—expect the Wave to match the Twingo’s 3.79-meter length—and urban-friendly proportions that prioritize maneuverability over macho posturing.

Power comes from a 27.5-kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery, sourced from CATL. LFP chemistry doesn’t win bragging rights for energy density, but it’s cheaper, more durable, and better suited to the stop-and-go life of a city car. Range is expected to land around 163 miles, mirroring the Twingo and landing squarely in the “enough for real life” category.

The payoff is price. Nissan is targeting the same sub-£20,000 sticker as the Twingo, which—these days—counts as aggressively affordable in the EV world.

Retro Without the Red Ink

The clever bit is how Nissan plans to inject Pike-inspired character without blowing the budget. The Twingo already leans into retro cues of its own, referencing the original 1990s model, which gives Nissan a forgiving canvas. Think of it as remixing nostalgia rather than starting from scratch—similar to how Nissan plans to differentiate its upcoming Micra, which is based on the Renault 5.

How far Nissan will push the Pike look remains an open question. Full-on exposed hinges and novelty detailing would be delightful but potentially costly. Still, Nissan will be watching Renault closely. Its alliance partner has found real success mining heritage with the electric Renault 5 and 4, proving that retro isn’t just an aesthetic—it’s a sales strategy.

Fast, Cheap, and (Hopefully) Fun

Beyond design, the Wave benefits from the Twingo program’s ruthless focus on efficiency. Renault claims a development time of just 21 months, aided by a reduced parts count and streamlined production. Nissan gets to piggyback on those gains, which matters because the margins on small cars—especially electric ones—are notoriously thin.

That efficiency also helps explain why Nissan is re-entering a segment it abandoned more than a decade ago. The company hasn’t sold a city car in Europe since it killed off the Indian-built Pixo in 2013. But the landscape has changed. The European Union now offers “super-credits” for small EVs, counting each one as 1.3 vehicles for emissions targets. Suddenly, small electric cars aren’t just charming—they’re strategically valuable.

A Small Car With Big Intent

The Nissan Wave won’t be fast, flashy, or long-legged. It doesn’t need to be. Its job is to make electric mobility feel approachable again—to remind buyers that EVs can be cheerful appliances rather than rolling tech demos. If Nissan successfully channels even a fraction of the Pike cars’ whimsy, the Wave could stand out in a sea of anonymous jellybeans.

In an era where so many new cars feel engineered by spreadsheet, the Wave hints at something refreshingly human. Affordable, efficient, and a little bit weird—in other words, exactly what a great city car should be.

Source: Autocar

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Leapmotor D99 Signals China’s Next Electric Minivan Arms Race

Leapmotor has spent the past decade quietly sharpening its tools, and for its 10th anniversary the Stellantis-backed Chinese brand rolled out something big—literally. Meet the Leapmotor D99, the company’s first electric minivan and a clear signal that China’s MPV segment is no longer just about luxury sofas on wheels, but about battery bragging rights.

The D99 lands in familiar company. Rivals like the Xpeng X9, Zeekr 009, and Li Auto Mega have already turned the once-humble minivan into a rolling tech lounge. Leapmotor’s twist? Offering both a full battery-electric version and a range-extender variant that flexes some of the largest battery packs the segment has seen.

Visually, the D99 sticks to Leapmotor’s established design language. The nose is almost comically short, with the windshield pushed far forward past the front axle—a layout that should translate to excellent outward visibility and maximum cabin volume. Smooth surfacing dominates the profile, broken up by retractable door handles (still legal for now in China) and blacked-out B- and C-pillars that create a floating-roof effect.

At the rear, a full-width LED light bar gives the D99 a suitably futuristic send-off. It’s clean, inoffensive, and very much in line with what Chinese buyers currently favor—less statement piece, more high-end appliance.

Where the D99 really starts swinging elbows is underneath. The range-extender version rides on an 800-volt architecture and packs an enormous 80.3-kWh battery. That’s not just large for a plug-in hybrid—it’s the largest battery currently offered in any range-extender vehicle. For context, Zeekr’s 9X EREV tops out at 70 kWh, while the upcoming range-extended Xpeng X9 settles for 63.3.

Leapmotor claims the D99 EREV can cover up to 500 kilometers (311 miles) on electric power alone before the combustion engine needs to wake up. While engine details haven’t been officially confirmed, expectations point to a familiar 1.5-liter four-cylinder similar to the unit used in the C10 REEV.

If that still sounds too compromised, the fully electric D99 removes the engine entirely and turns the voltage dial even higher. Its 1000-volt platform supports a massive 115-kWh CATL battery, good for a claimed 720 kilometers (447 miles) of range. That puts it squarely in long-distance territory and suggests ultra-fast charging capability to match—details Leapmotor hasn’t yet shared but almost certainly will.

Interior photos remain under wraps, but expectations are easy to set. Leapmotor’s recent models lean heavily on expansive screens, plush seating, and an emphasis on rear-seat comfort. This is a minivan designed less for hands-on drivers and more for executives, families, or VIP passengers who expect to recline while someone—or something—else handles the steering.

Pricing and market availability are still unknown, though more information is promised in the coming weeks. Whether the D99 ever ventures beyond China remains to be seen, but its spec sheet alone makes one thing clear: the electric minivan is no longer a niche experiment. It’s a battleground—and Leapmotor just showed up with one of the biggest batteries in the room.

Source: Leapmotor