Renault EVs confirmed for Australia

Renault Australia will begin rolling out a full range of electric vehicles within two years, starting in 2023 with the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric small SUV, which will be followed by the Renault 4 retro SUV and the Renault 5 city-EV.

And the good news is that unlike most EVs, including the ZOE (Europe’s top-selling EV before the Volkswagen ID.3 and Tesla Model 3 arrived) and Kangoo ZE previously offered here by Renault, the French car-maker says its upcoming range of seven all-new EVs by 2025 will “democratise” battery power for all car buyers.

The first and only EV to achieve price parity with its conventional combustion-powered competitors Down Under is the Tesla Model 3 – Australia’s top-selling EV and carsales’ Best EV for 2021 – and its sub-$60K starting price could soon be matched by the upcoming Polestar 2.

Before the arrival of its new-generation EVs, Renault Australia will launch two commercial vans including the facelifted Trafic mid-sizer and the new Kangoo small van in 2022, potentially followed by an electrified Master large van.

But Renault’s new Australian distributor Ateco Automotive, which assumed local control of the French brand in April and then launched the all-new Arkana SUV to slot between the new Captur small SUV and the Koleos medium SUV, will not import other existing Renault models like the new Clio light hatch due local homologation issues including the new ADR 85 pole side impact regulation.

Due in force from November 1, ADR 85 has already been confirmed to bring about the premature discontinuation of several Lexus models and both the Nissan GT-R and Alpine A110.

But the A110 will eventually be replaced by an electric sports car co-developed with Lotus and Alpine, which will replace Renault Sport as the French maker’s performance brand and launch two other EVs post-2025 including a hot hatch and SUV – likely based on the R5 and R4 respectively.

Following the axing of the previous Clio RS, the only Renault Sport model still available Down Under is the Megane RS – Renault Australia’s only remaining passenger model – which will stay in production until mid-2022.

Managing director Glen Sealey told carsales the all-new Megane E-Tech SUV will be the first in a series of pure-electric models to come from Renault Australia, which will consider all of the 10 new EVs to come from Renault and Alpine in coming years.

“We see our first passenger electric vehicle being the Megane E-Tech, which you’ll see here in 2023,” he said.

“Following that, you’re going to see the Renault 4 and Renault 5 vehicles. We’ve certainly got our hand up for both of those cars. And beyond that the vehicles that are within that [EV] portfolio, we will have our hand out for a number of them that work in the Australian market.

“And the interesting thing is that by the time you see those vehicles coming through, Renault is being quite clear in saying those vehicles will see the democratisation of electrification.

“Unless you’ve got some level of parity between electrification and internal combustion engines, it’s always a struggle aside from the issues unique to Australia being range anxiety and infrastructure.

“We’re pretty pragmatic. We like to get value for money.”

It might wear a familiar badge, but Renault’s next-generation Megane will take on an entirely new persona, much like Citroen’s latest C4.

The 2022 Renault Megane E-Tech was developed alongside the upcoming Nissan Ariya electric SUV and will be the first Renault based on the all-new CMF-EV architecture from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

It will initially be offered with 40kWh and 60kWh lithium-ion battery packs – the latter claimed to deliver a WLTP range of 470km with a single front-mounted 160kW/300Nm motor, which also offers 0-100km/h in eight seconds.

Higher performance variants, which could simply wear Alpine badging, will borrow their 290kW/600Nm dual-motor powertrain from the larger Nissan Ariya, which could spell 0-100km/h in about 5.5sec.

And with the bigger 90kWh battery expected to arrive late, top-spec versions of the Megane E-Tech could have a range of more than 610km.

Inside, a large digital instrument panel, huge portrait-mounted infotainment system and a squared-off multifunction steering wheel with Renault’s new logo make the Megane SUV’s tech-laden interior look unlike any other current Renault.

Expect the production version to be around the same size as the Captur at about 4.2 metres long and 1.8 metres wide, making it much smaller the outgoing Megane hatch or wagon, but it should be priced under the $60,000 mark currently set by small electric SUV rivals like the Kia Niro and Mazda MX-30.

The Renault 4, meantime, will be based on the same CMF-EV platform and launched in Europe next year, but the retro-styled electric SUV will also be offered in commercial van form that draws visual links with the classic Renault 4 Fourgonette panel van.

It will be previewed by the Renault 4ever concept that’s expected to debut in November, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the original R4’s launch in 1961.

First created as a direct rival for the Citroen 2CV, the first Renault 4 was produced until 1994 and was even built in Renault’s Heidelberg factory in Victoria over 1962-1966.

Globally, Renault produced more than eight million examples of the R4, which won a reputation for ride quality, durability and load-carrying ability.

Both the R4 and R5 will share their platform and powertrains, but the latter will be positioned as an electric hot hatch for a new generation.

Sealey said SUVs and commercial vans would continue to be Renault Australia’s two key pillars in the short-term.

“Beyond that, yes, we will go back into the hot hatch market, but it will be electric hot hatches with the likes of the Renault 5.

“And of course, the relaunch of Alpine as you’ve read everywhere will consist of three models – a hatch, an SUV and a replacement A110 – and for sure we see a future for Alpine in Australia and that will be around that sort of 2025, ’26 period.

“We’ve got the future here and we’ve got a terrific brand and the best thing about it is we’ve got a brand that’s well-established in the marketplace. It’s in the top 20 [for sales] over the last five years, there are 90,000 cars in the car parc and our biggest-selling model over the last five years has been an SUV.

“So, it makes sense to focus on our SUVs, keep our commercials going and then prepare for electrification.”

With new-generation models like the latest Clio and ZOE ruled out for Australia due to ADR 85, Renault’s short-term focus will be on its existing three-model commercial van line-up.

“If I wanted to bring in any of the existing range out of Renault today, I can’t. Anything that’s not already here, I can’t bring because they’re not engineered to the side impact regulations, which Europe doesn’t adopt for another two years,” said Sealey.

“Anything in the right-hand drive market we would look at, but at the end of the day it’s got to make commercial stance and if it’s got to be re-engineered for this market it’s not going to work.

“So we’re now looking at the all-new products from Renault … and the first of them really is the new Kangoo next year. The current vehicle will run out in the first half of next year and we’ll launch an all-new Kangoo in the second half of next year.

“We also have a facelifted Trafic coming out towards the end of next year and there’s the opportunity to look at Master EV next year, so we’ve got a good runway on those commercial vehicles as well.”

What’s coming from Renault:
Kangoo redesign – mid-2022
Trafic facelift – late 2022
Megane E-Tech Electric – 2023
Renault 4 – 2024
Renault 5 – 2025
Alpine sports car – 2026