Renault lines up electric family SUV
French brand wants to build on success of Zoe & Captur
RENAULT’S electric charge will continue with the arrival of a big brother to the Zoe hatchback within the next 18 months, Auto Express can reveal. The fully electric SUV is one of two all-new EVs in the pipeline from the French firm, and it will take on competition such as the upcoming Volkswagen ID.4 and Vauxhall Mokka-e.
The as-yet-unnamed SUV will be heavily based on the Morphoz concept car, and will use the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s new CMF-EV electric-car platform, which was first displayed on the showcar.
Asked about the design of Renault’s next EV, Groupe Renault head of design Laurens van den Acker told us: “I hope we can make it look more like a Morphoz. It was an interesting exercise because I wanted to make sure our electric cars have plenty of character, even though they might not have the usual characteristics or elements a traditional car has, like a big grille. It has quite a sleek silhouette with a lot of aerodynamic treatment at the rear, and I think this is a sign of things to come.”
Although there’s no word yet on driving range for the new Renault EV, we’d expect a battery capacity that’s big enough for it to travel up to 300 miles between charges. This would make it competitive with rivals; VW has already announced that the ID.4 will be able to cover at least 310 miles between charges. What can be confirmed, though, is that CMF-EV can be developed with front or four-wheel drive, and that its modular nature means it can be used for a variety of differently sized vehicles.
Previewed in our exclusive images, the coupé-SUV-like styling of the Morphoz is likely to make it into the production car. “When you go to EVs, the silhouettes will change; the proportions of the cars will change,” van den Acker told us. “I think we’re still in for SUVs for quite a while, as they’ve become incredibly efficient and remain very attractive – and it’s the only proportion that appeals globally.
“I think you’ll find, the more we switch to EVs, cars will have to become lower – we need to improve aerodynamics to be able to go further – and at the same time because of the EV proportions, the inside and the wheelbase will grow in length, which is a good thing, because you can create more space on the same footprint,” he said.
While the Morphoz shows a shift in Renault’s EV design philosophy, van den Acker revealed that he’d have liked to have made the Zoe more daring. “With the Zoe I’d have loved to have gone much further than this,” he said. “But we invested heavily in the interior and the electronic architecture of the vehicle. When you drive it, it’s like a different world to the first Zoe – it’s a much more mature car. We kept it like that, because it’s no secret that it’s extremely hard to make money from EVs still.”
“Renault EV is expected to get a battery big enough for a range of 300 miles between charges”