As we had advanced a few days ago, the restructuring plan of the Welsh group — called Renaulution — will bring many new features to Renault and, in the spotlight, we will see the return of the iconic Renault 5, anticipated here by Renault 5 Prototype and it will be… exclusively electric.
But there's more… In total there will be 14 new models to be launched by 2025 only for the Renault brand, in an offensive that he calls the “Nouvelle Vague”.
With it, Renault intends to bring “modernity to the European automobile panorama” and transform itself “into a brand of technology, services and clean energy”.
Electrify is key
Of the 14 new models that Renault will launch by 2025, seven will be 100% electric and seven will belong to the C and D segments. electric or hybrid.
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Renault's ambition is to ensure that, by the end of 2025, the upper segments will represent 45% of sales. Yet it goes without saying that the “company star” is precisely the model anticipated by the now unveiled Renault 5 Prototype.
According to Renault, the aim of the Renault 5 Prototype is simple: “to show that Renault will democratize the electric car in Europe, with a modern approach to a popular car”.
Predictably, there is still no data about the future electric Renault 5, not even a date for its launch, however, the inspiration of the prototype designed by Gilles Vidal's design team on the original model is undeniable.
The most curious thing about the Renault 5 Prototype is that the stylistic details taken from the original hide modern functions. For example, the air intake in the hood hides the cargo terminal, the tail lights have aerodynamic deflectors and the fog lights in the bumper are daytime driving lights.
Technology on the agenda
According to the restructuring plan now announced, Renault will focus on three areas of competitiveness. First, the French brand wants to become a technology brand. For this, it will create a digital ecosystem called “Software République”.
The purpose of this ecosystem is to allow Renault and the other founding members to “develop skills, reinforce European know-how and defend their sovereignty in key technologies, from “Big Data” to electronics”. Furthermore, it will also allow Renault to provide its cars with “the best artificial intelligence and cybersecurity systems”.
Renault also wants to become a service brand, with the aim of offering the best connected services. Therefore, in 2022 Renault will introduce the new infotainment system “My Link”. Based on Google Built-In technology, it will make Renault the first car manufacturer to offer Google services in large-scale production cars.
At the same time, Renault will also focus on the reconditioning of used cars through its Re-Factory plant in Flins (France). This Renault plant currently produces the Zoe, but it will also recondition more than 100,000 used cars a year and will also convert diesel cars into electric or biogas cars.
Hydrogen is also a bet
Finally, Renault also intends to become a leader in the energy transition, transforming itself into a “Clean Energies brand”.
In order to do so, it will not only maintain its commitment to plug-in hybrid and hybrid models with E-Tech technology, but will also launch (as we have already told you) a family of products based on its dedicated electrical platforms: the CMF-EV and CMF -B EV.
However, the bet on “clean energies” does not stop there, and hydrogen will also become part of Renault's future bets, planning to offer solutions based on this technology ready to be commercialized in the Light Commercial markets.
To do this, the Renault Group has joined forces with the Plug Power company, creating a joint venture (50-50) based in France, which aims to achieve a 30% share of the hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicle market.