This little wonder is a Venucia R30, a small five-door hatchback sold only in China. I met this white example in Beijing, it looked great, painted in white and with five ‘spoke’ wheel covers. The Venucia R30 was based on the Nissan March.
Venucia was founded in 2010 as a brand under the Dongfeng-Nissan joint venture. Venucia was a budget brand, using older Nissan cars as a base for its own vehicles. Many joint ventures launched similar brands at the time. These brands were owned directly by the joint ventures, and were therefore often described as “sub-brands”. The Chinese name of Venucia is 启辰 (Qǐchén), which means Morning Star. The original logo depicted five stars, two gray and three blue, against a dark blue background.
Venucia has a complicated history. From 2010 until 2016, it was owned by Dongfeng-Nissan, using Nissan platforms and technology. However, in 2017, it was moved under Dongfeng Motor Corporation. Nissan continued to supply platforms for existing models, but Dongfeng supplied platforms for new models. During this time, Venucia became a normal brand instead of just a budget brand, and the design became quite interesting. In 2020, the Venucia brand was moved back under Dongfeng-Nissan again, and the current models use a mix of Nissan and Dongfeng technology. Venucia is thriving today with a 10-car lineup with EV, PHEV, and ICE power trains. It also has a new simplified logo.
The Venucia R30 is a subcompact five-door hatchback, manufactured from 2014 until 2017. The R30 was based on the fourth-generation Nissan March. The March was made by Dongfeng-Nissan from 2010 until 2015. So for one year, Chinese consumers could have them both!
The changes were quite extensive. To turn a March into an R30, the entire front and rear were changed. The R30 got new bumpers, a new grille, new headlights, new rear lights, a new hood, and new wheels.
The dashboard was unique for the R30 too. It had large round air vents and an audio system with a cool CD player. The owner of this particular car added a set of seat covers and two lucky charms, hanging from the rearview mirror.
The rear of the R30 looked nice, with a sporty all-black tailfate. On the left of the R30 is a Denza 400 EV. The R30 was a front-wheel drive vehicle. Power came from a Nissan 1.2-liter 3-cylinder engine with an output of 73 hp and 104 Nm. This was the only ever engine option for the Venucia R30. The gearbox was a 5-speed manual, and that too was the only option.
Characters: 启辰, Qǐchén, Venucia. The top speed of the R30 was 155 km/h, and fuel consumption was a decent 5.5 liter per 100 kilometers. It was a nicely compact car, perfect for driving in China’s big cities. Size: 3775/1665/1530, 2450, and a 901 kg curb weight. It had a 37-liter fuel tank and a 220-kilo trunk.
Characters: 东风日产, Dōngfēng Rìchǎn, Dongfeng-Nissan.
The Venucia R30 was an affordable car. In 2017, prices ranged from only 39.900 yuan to 51.900 yuan. For comparison, the 2015 Nissan March with the same engine and gearbox had a base price of 59.800 yuan. The March was also available with a 1.5 liter four and an automatic ‘box, luxuries that the budget R30 never got.