Renault declares it will be world's greenest car-maker

Renault boss Luca de Meo has vowed that the French car-maker will become the "greenest brand" in Europe by 2030, with nine out of 10 cars sold featuring an electrified powertrain.

Making the statement overnight in a speech to media, de Meo said the success of the company's turnaround was dependent on repositioning Renault to take a lead on "sustainable mobility".

Curiously, while other rivals like Volvo have publicly committed to becoming a full pure-electric car-maker, Renault's boss admitted that its position as a global brand would mean it would continue to make combustion-powered vehicles until possibly 2035 and beyond.

He said legislation in each major market would dictate the company's position.

As well as stressing the company would rapidly ramp up the proportion of electrified vehicles, de Meo declared that Renault would become the world's best car brand when it comes to the amount of recycled materials used in their construction.

Ensuring it achieves its aim, Renault plans to create a 'Re-Factory' that will recycle up to 120,000 vehicles a year, including EVs, with the car-maker capable of creating new batteries using 80 per cent recycled materials.

Electrified versions of the Renault Captur, the new Renault Arkana and a plug-in variant of the Renault Megane sedan are also confirmed, with de Meo providing details of the brand's next-generation hybrid tech.

From 2022, the car-maker's regular hybrid powertrain will combine a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors, producing a combined 147kW.

A more complex all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid powertrain due in 2024 will produce 206kW.

Like the existing system, the base hybrid engine has been developed to operate in electric mode for 80 per cent of urban journeys and should reduce fuel consumption by 40 per cent.

Renault will first introduce its next-gen hybrid technology in an SUV before applying it to other segments.

Later this year, Renault will launch its Megane E-Tech pure-electric crossover that it also teased during the press conference.

The EV has been designed to steal sales from both the Volkswagen ID.3 hatch and ID.4 SUV.

As well as electrified cars, Renault will continue to develop hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles, with de Meo admitting they were perfect for larger light commercials that needed a range of more than 500km.