Renault’s budget all-electric City K-ZE small car is to be upgraded for European sale. It could be badged as a Dacia and is likely to kick-start the group’s future shared mobility initiative.

The Renault Group’s official line is that “it will announce a variant of K-ZE, adapted to Europe, as an entry point into zero-emissions-in-use mobility” and it wouldn’t confirm or deny the use of Dacia branding when questioned.

The K-ZE is a small A-segment SUV, keenly priced from £6900 in China to attract younger buyers.

According to Renault’s head of electric vehicles, Gilles Normand: “A special version of the K-ZE will come to Europe.”

The European version is likely to have safety equipment upgrades and possibly a small improvement to its official NEDC range of 155 miles.

The limited range enables Renault to keep the price low and, Normand said, the need for a big range is less important because this is a city car.

In Chinese specification, the K-ZE has a 44bhp, 88lb ft electric motor. It needs seven seconds to reach 37mph and has a top speed of 65mph.

Renault brand boss Thierry Bolloré told Autocar at last month’s Frankfurt show that the firm is looking at how to bring an EV to Europe for “around £10,000”.

The K-ZE was designed at the outset as a global model and will have been engineered in several forms. It will, however, be produced in only one plant – Shiyan, China – to contain costs.

Within Renault’s electric line-up, the K-ZE sits beneath the recently upgraded Zoe, but it could also make an affordable entry into electric motoring for Renault-owned Dacia.