Little Zoe was just the warm-up. In the future, Renault wants to persuade the masses to switch to electric drive. The French are rebuilding almost their entire product portfolio.
experience with the Electric Mobility you can Renault don't deny. The Zoe was one of the first mass-produced electric cars in Europe and was often even a bestseller across all segments. "Renault knows how electric works," says CEO Luca de Meo, "we have know-how from over 400.000 vehicles that have covered more than ten billion kilometers."
Until when will the usual models still be available?
Now the French are starting their second electric chapter, with a vehicle in the C segment, which is extremely popular in Europe, the Mégane E-Tech Electric, a crisply styled crossover hatchback model. "The new Mégane will make the masses switch," believes de Meo. Renault will continue to produce the current, fourth generation of the Mégane until 2024. Supposedly, people in Paris are already thinking about an electric Mégane station wagon.
The new Mégane E-Tech Electric, as it will go on sale in early summer, is the brand's first model to be based on the newly developed Allianz (Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi) platform CMF-EV. The all-electric architecture will serve as the technical basis for a whole range of electric cars in various sizes over the coming years. At the end of the decade, Renault plans to have battery-electric power for 90 percent of its models.
It will be sorted out
The Mégane E-Tech will be followed next year - also on the CMF-EV, but positioned one segment higher - by a fully electric crossover model with a flat and long silhouette. Rumors are circulating that this will be the successor to the Scenic and Grand Scenic and that the name will even be adopted. The van concept in this class would be buried. With regard to the battery size, the limit at Renault is currently 87 kWh, which would mean a range of almost 500 kilometers. Up to 130 kW of power is possible at CCS fast charging stations.
The EV platform with the same battery capacity and the same charger should also benefit Alpine. Renault's sports brand wants to start its electrification in 2024 with initially three models. An electric sports car is being planned as the successor to the A110. A five-seater crossover model called GT X-Over is to follow in 2025. In all likelihood with a sporty four-wheel drive. Production will take place at the Dieppe plant.
It's going to be sporty
And with the Alpine brand, of course, a crisp model of the "Hot Hatches" category should not be missing. This is a rehash of the legendary R5 Alpine, with which the French shook up the small car scene in 1977. The electric Alpine derivative is derived from the R5, which Renault will probably show for the first time in the production version at the end of 2023 and introduce in 2024. The chic study for this was at the IAA Mobility in Munich last year and has already been awarded a design prize. The technical basis is the slightly smaller CMF-BEV alliance architecture. The electric R5 is to replace the Zoe.
Roll top on the car?
The new BEV platform will also feature the reincarnation of another Renault icon: the R4. However, this model could change something in the direction of the high-roof station wagon. It can be heard that there should even be a roll-top version. Market launch: probably not until 2025.
Conventionally, Renault continues this year with the Austral. The mid-size SUV will be launched in the second half of the year and will succeed the Kadjar. Once again, the diesel engine is canceled. A few years ago, this approach would have been unthinkable in such a segment. Customers can initially choose between petrol and hybrid petrol engines for the Austral. A plug-in hybrid will follow in 2023. In the same year, the new Koleos is launched. The mid-range SUV will have space for up to seven people.
