Is the Panda coming back? In China, yes, but not from the hand of Fiat

The Stellantis brand is working to bring back the Panda, the legendary city car that became popular a few decades ago. A small car, with low consumption and modest power, which offered many advantages for short journeys. But it is not that Panda we are going to talk about. In China, a small city car with that name was also sold, but under the Geely badge.

The Chinese multinational has brought back its own Panda and turned it into an electric car designed for the city. In this country, Fiat does not hold exclusive rights to the name, so Geely has used it without problems for several of its models. This latest one is a small car which, in principle, will not reach Europe, and which aims to be a popular city car.

This model is very similar to others found in Chinese cities. It is a car with a boxy body, designed to make the most of the interior space. It measures just 3,064 millimetres in length, 1,522 millimetres in width and 1,600 millimetres in height. The wheelbase is 2,015 millimetres, so the space is fairly compact, but it allows four people to travel inside.

The front has a very attractive look, in keeping with its name. The rounded headlights bring the car’s image closer to that of the animal, so the name suits it very well. Inside there is a 9.2-inch screen for the instrument cluster and another 8-inch screen for infotainment. It has quite a complete equipment list for its size, including central locking, electric windows and height-adjustable headlights.

It features Bluetooth connectivity, so from the smartphone you can control things such as battery status, remote door unlocking or activation of the climate control.

Engine and batteries

The motor’s power is not known, but there are two battery packs. The first is 9.6 kWh and the second 17 kWh. These offer a range of between 120 and 200 kilometres. It offers two driving modes, Sport and Normal, and three levels of energy recovery under braking.

This Panda Mini EV aims to compete with the Wuling Hongguang MiniEV, which has sold just over a million units. Its price is between the equivalent of 5,500 and 7,900 euros, which is not bad at all. Let’s hope Geely reconsiders and decides to bring it to Europe, although in that case it would have to change the name.