Renault unveiled its electric vehicle (EV) strategy, betting on new, cheaper versions of the models currently on offer in order to better compete with Volkswagen. Today, the CEO of the French carmaker unveiled the electric strategy, Luca De Meo, which announced the arrival of 10 new electric vehicles by 2025 and that fully electric vehicles will account for up to 90% of its models by 2030. “Today is a historic acceleration of the Renault group’s EV strategy,” said De Meo, who arrived to relaunch the group after the Carlos Ghosn affair. The “Renaulution” plan provides for staff cuts and fewer models, improving cooperation with i partner Nissan e Mitsubishi.
New Models: Two old icons are back
The first of its new electric vehicles will be the sedan MeganE which is expected to go on sale in the first half of 2022.
Among the most anticipated innovations is the electric version of its classic Renault 5 compact car, which has been out of production since the 1990s. The R5 BEV will go on sale in the first half of 2024 and will go to one lower price range than that currently occupied by the Renault Zoe, for years the best-selling electric car in Europe but now it is undergoing the competition from Volkswagen with the new compact ID.3. Data from the EV-Volumes.com database shows that Volkswagen’s share of the electric vehicle market in Europe rose to 25% last year from 14% in 2019, surpassing the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, whose share is dropped to 19% (from 23% in 2019). In the first quarter of 2021, Renault’s share dropped further to 15%, drawing with Tesla for third place behind Volkswagen at 21% and Stellantis at 17%.
De Meo said new purpose-built electric car platforms and a group of manufacturing sites in northern France would allow Renault to supply electric vehicles at a lower cost. An industrial cost 33% lower than that of Zoe is expected for the R5 BEV. Then there will be the new electric “4ever”, which should be a reinterpretation of the R4.
The democratization of electric cars, whose high cost still represents a critical issue, sees Renaul working with standardized cell architecture that will cover 100% of future electric vehicle launches, with costs cut by 60% at the battery pack level by 2030.