Fengsheng Maple 30X is an electric CUV under Rs. 8 lacs! – We know it looks like TATA Nexon but there’s more
Seems like Chinese brands love products from Tata Motors. The Landwind X7 was notoriously known for duplicating the RR Evoque (a Tata product) and now, this Geely Maple 30X draws heavy inspiration from the Nexon EV.
There is no hiding the fact that Chinese companies are often in the limelight for their ‘imagination-less’ designs. And it is not limited to just cars or tech or apps, it is kind of all- pervasive. Just like the Oneplus 5 was touted as a total iPhone 7+ rip-off or the Landwind X7 being the duplicate of a RR Evoque, the Geely-Kandi affliate company Fengsheng’s Maple 30X seems to take the copying mechanism (pun intended) to the budget segment.
Let’s first talk about the car. The Maple 30X is actually a pretty good offering. It is a fully electric car powered by an electric motor that can generate a maximum of 70 kW. With a driving range of 306 km as claimed by the company, it gets an express charging system capable of jucing it up to 80% in just 30 mins. Thus, it is more powerful than the Nexon and charges faster and get this, it costs almost half of that of the Nexon EV at around Rs. 8 lakh.
But, that is where the good stuff ends for me. On paper, it appeared to me as the ‘perfect’ electric mover but, things changed when I looked at it. The car is extremely similar in looks to the Tata Nexon and draws inspiration from 2 (or more) Tata cars along with other elements from a Maruti Suzuki.
The bonnet and the roofline appears to be the same as a Nexon especially with that dual-tone colour. The headlights are almost the same as a Tata Zest and the tail-lights are all the way inspired from an S-cross. Come to the interior and you will find heavy references to Skoda with the touchscreen but, the AC vents appear to be taken straight out of a Maruti Suzuki vehicle. AND there is an even more uncanny resemblance to the Nexon when you look at the seats and the overall positioning.
