French carmaker Renault unveiled a more ambitious strategy for electric vehicles on Wednesday, betting on new, affordable versions of its iconic small cars of the past to catch up with Volkswagen in the fast-growing sector.
The French carmaker’s Chief Executive Luca de Meo said it would launch 10 new EVs by 2025. All electric vehicles would account for up to 90% of its models by 2030, dropping its reliance on hybrids to hit the target under a previous plan.
Renault is betting that an electrical model of its traditional Renault 5 compact automotive, which was discontinued within the 1990s, will seize the creativeness of the moment’s drivers.
It was also set to unveil it’s new electric “4ever” on Wednesday. Two sources close to the company said it would be a revival of the Renault 4 hatchback, which went out of production last century.
De Meo said that new, purpose-built electric car platforms and a cluster of production sites in northern France would allow Renault to deliver EVs at a lower cost. “At the moment is a historical acceleration of Renault Group’s EV technique,” de Meo mentioned in an announcement.
Renault’s Zoe model, the biggest-selling battery-electric car in its segment in Europe for years, is losing ground to models such as Volkswagen’s ID.3 compact electric car.
Figures from the database EV-Volumes.com showed Volkswagen’s share of the EV market in Europe soared to 25% last year from 14% in 2019, overtaking the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, whose share shrank to 19% from 23% in 2019.
De Meo, a former Volkswagen executive who turned the German automaker’s Seat brand around, has been tasked with helping Renault turn a new page after a troubled spell.
Former boss Carlos Ghosn was ousted and arrested in Japan in 2018 on charges of financial malpractice, which he denies. Ghosn left behind a sprawling model range with low margins, and Renault racked up heavy losses when global demand for cars fell.
De Meo’s turnaround plan – which he has termed a “Renaulution” – is to put off 1000’s of staff, cut back the variety of fashions, and enhance cooperation between alliance companions on car manufacturing.
Renault said this month it would combine three of its plants in northern France into a new legal entity, Renault ElectriCity, that will produce 400,000 vehicles a year by 2025.
The corporate has beforehand mentioned it can use purpose-designed car platforms, generally known as CMF B-EV and CMF A, to supply small and reasonably priced EVs.
{It said on Wednesday that the CMF B-EV platform would allow it to produce a vehicle at two-thirds of the cost of making the Zoe model now. “We want to democratise electric technology,” Renault’s de Meo said. “When you have a car at 20 to 25,000 euros, you have much more chance than selling a car at 45,000 euros. It’s as simple as that.”}
