Renault teases all-electric supermini
The Renault 5 is coming back, Alpine is going entirely electric, and Dacia has some new models coming. It’s all go over in France, writes Nile Bijoux.
The news was spoilt a little earlier this week but Renault has come through and confirmed it is bringing back the Renault 5 as an all-electric supermini.
Pictured here as a prototype rather than a concept, the reborn 5 gets similar design cues to its 20th-century forebear, with square-shaped headlights, square intakes with LED outlining, and an interesting black patch on the bonnet near the windscreen. It looks like an indicator showing if the car is charging or not but, given there’s no immediately visible charge flap, it may also be the charge port.
Around the back are a lot of LED strakes, two extending across the hatch to meet and create a stylised 5 logo. ‘‘Renault’’ is spelt out in more LEDs near the bottom of the rear end.
A red stripe running along the roof’s edge looks like a nod to the Renault 5 GT Turbo from back in the day, which means the modern EV may get a high-performance variant.
Not much else is known but
Renault’s boss, Luca de Meo, said it would be sold ‘‘at a price that many, many people will be able to afford’’. No word was given on the rumoured Renault 4 revival.
Renault is also looking at launching 14 ‘‘core vehicles’’ by 2025. Expect most, if not all, to be electrified in some way.
In other Groupe Renault news, Alpine is going fully electric.
Three vehicles are planned, although details are scarce.
Judging by the teaser image, one will be a small city car, another will be a crossover, and the third will be an electric successor to the Alpine A110.
Alpine will team up with Lotus, presumably to develop the new sports car, while the other two will ride on the CMF-B and
CMF-EV platforms. The former underpins vehicles such as the Renault Clio and Nissan Note, while the latter is set to debut with the Nissan Ariya electric SUV.
Renault is also turning Alpine into the Renault Group’s motorsport and performance division, encompassing Renault’s sport cars, as well as the Renault F1 team, which has been rebranded for the 2021 season as the Alpine F1 team.
Budget brand Dacia announced it would expand with three new models, including a new compact SUV.
The unnamed model made a brief appearance as a concept, measuring 4.6-metres long or about 28cm longer than the current Duster.
It will accommodate hybrid and alternative powertrains, which probably means liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and/or compressed natural gas (CNG) – both not typically offered in New Zealand.
The other two models will arrive next year and then in 2024, with the above model coming after that.
Renault said Dacia would become ‘‘outdoorsy with a touch of coolness’’, while its sister marque Lada would be ‘‘rough and tough’’.