The Renault Group CEO, Luca De Meo, announced a whole host of EV-based innovations at its Capital Markets Day recently, an event that aimed to drum up support from investors by laying out the company’s EV-based plans for the future.
Buried deep in the various announcements surrounding Renault’s all-electric subdivision Ampere, as well as a focus on the return of Twingo, was the promise that the upcoming and hotly-anticipated Renault 5 EV remake will go on sale in the summer of 2024, costing around €25,000 in those regions that still benefit from electric vehicle incentives.
In the UK, where EV grants dried up a long time ago, the upcoming Renault 5 E-Tech is likely to cost around £30,000, but that will still make it one of the cheapest EVs on sale. Mini’s upcoming electric Cooper will likely cost around the same, while fellow French automaker Peugeot’s popular E-208 remains slightly more expensive.
Despite this fact, the upcoming electric Renault 5 promises to stay true to the design of the R5 Concept, which was unveiled in 2021, with plenty of retro-futuristic touches that have been inspired by the original Renault 5 models.
More recent teaser images reveal a charge indicator light where the air intake used to reside on the bonnet of historic models, as well as vertical rear lights and expressive LED front headlights that appear to have been ported over directly from the concept.
Other notable specifications include the fact that the electric Renault 5 will be sold with two battery options, including one with a capacity of 52 kWh, for a range of up to 400km (248-miles) according to the strict WLTP testing cycle.
According to Auto Express, charging is likely to be similar to that of the Megane E-Tech, which offers up to 130kW rapid-charging speeds. It claims this should allow up to 124 miles of range to be added in around 30 minutes from the appropriate outlet.
The anti-Tesla reservation society
In a unique move for a 'legacy' carmaker, Renault is offering potential customers the chance to get hold of the upcoming Renault 5 E-Tech before anyone else thanks to its R5 R Pass programme.
Arguably the antithesis of Tesla’s Cybertruck deposit debacle, which has seen buyers wait over four years for their vehicles to be delivered and have to swallow a 50 per cent price hike in the interim, the R5 R Pass programme allows pass holders to order the new car in the Renault network ten days before orders open to the general public.
In addition to this, Renault will reserve the first build slots at its ElectriCity plant in Douai, France, to those purchasing through the R5 R Pass programme, so they legitimately get keys before anyone else. No random ballots with Renault.
According to the French automaker, the passes are available from its website at a cost of €150, and are offered in the seven participating countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands).
