Renault presented its new battery-powered R5 in Geneva on Monday, a model intended to make an impact with its design while democratizing electric cars manufactured in France.
Vertical taillights, flashy colors, sculpted seats, rear spoiler: the small car multiplies the nods to its ancestor launched in 1972 but also to the very aggressive R5 turbo, French rally champion.
Symbol of the electric shift, the ventilation grille on the hood is replaced by a charging indicator.
Assembled in Douai (North), the R5 replaces the Zoé as the brand’s entry-level electric model. Better still, it is the ’emblem’ of the group’s relaunch, assured management during a press conference ahead of the Geneva launch.
After difficult years, the group recorded excellent results in 2023 thanks to more high-end vehicles.
“It arrives at the moment when the great shift of millions of Europeans towards electric, connected and sustainable mobility will take place,” underlined the general director of Renault Luca de Meo in a press release.
‘It is at the heart of the battle to reinvent European industry in the face of competition from the East and the West. With it, we prove that producing in Europe, in France, is possible!’, launched the boss of Losange, who had already supervised the rebirth of the small Fiat 500.
Economical compacts
Within the Renault group, the Dacia Spring was already the cheapest electric car on the market, but manufactured in China. Above, the electric Renault Mégane did not sell as much as hoped, with its high-end positioning and prices.
The R5 will have to position itself between the two, in the economical and all-purpose compact sector, particularly against the future electric Citroën C3.
The brand promises a base price around 25,000 euros, excluding bonuses. The more expensive versions because they are equipped with batteries offering the greatest autonomy (around 400 kilometers) will arrive on the market first, followed by the other versions (300 km of autonomy) during 2024.
Shorter than a Clio, the R5 is nevertheless spacious, and not too heavy for an electric car: it does not exceed 1,450 kg in its heaviest versions. Its batteries must be manufactured in France from 2025.
At its launch, the car will automatically be offered in ‘pop green’ to stand out on the street.
“Everything has been done to make it a post-modern, futuristic, and in no way nostalgic object,” emphasized Renault designer Gilles Vidal. ‘We look for ingredients in our history but we project them into the future’.
Renault is due to present in the coming months an electric version of another icon, this time from the 1960s, the Renault 4.
/ATS