Luxing

This Poor Little Chinese Electric Vehicle Aspires To Be A Mercedes-Benz

This is the Luxing iStar, a new electric small car from China that was launched at the the 2017 Jinan EV Show. Manufactured by a company called Dezhou Luxing Vehicle Company, the Luxing iStar is powered by a 72 Volt lead acid battery good for just 1.6 HP. It has claimed top speed of 45 km/h, and a claimed range of 150 km.

Underwhelming specifications and diminutive size not withstanding, the Luxing iStar wants to be a Mercedes-Benz. The front fascia is a splitting image of the Mercedes-Benz GLE, miniaturised to fit the bill. Although poor, the renditions of the Benz’s ‘diamond grille’, LED headlamps and the front bumper are surprisingly accurate. The same cannot be said about the logo though, which points in the wrong direction.

From the sides it doesn’t really look like a Mercedes, apart from the design of the outer mirrors, which are clearly “inspired”. The bodywork on the sides also try to impersonate an A-Class’s curves, but only just. At the rear, the LED tail lamps and bumper are all poorly plagiarised Mercedes hardware. The German inspiration even makes it presence felt inside the cabin.

The interior design, especially the shape of the dashboard with its triple air vents, is clearly inspired from Mercedes-Benz cabins. Below the centre console lies the ‘panic button’, which switches off all electrical power in case of an emergency. The touch screen is a real touch screen, measuring 10 inches. The system features radio, SD and /USB slots, while it can play MP3 audio and MP4 video. It even has a rear-view camera!

The Luxing iStar retails for 22,000 yuan or just a shade over INR 2 lakh.

via Car News China

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