Renault readying EV rival for Volkswagen I.D.
French car-maker confirms it will produce a battery-powered hatch to sit above the ZOERenault has confirmed it will develop a larger pure-electric hatchback to fight the forthcoming Volkswagen I.D. Neo hatch.
Currently within Europe and Australia, Renault's only electric passenger car is the small battery-powered ZOE hatch.
But that's set to change judging from comments made by the French car-maker's global vehicle director, Eric Feunteun, who told
that Renault would have its own answer to VW's electric vehicle onslaught.“My answer is very clear,” he told the Brit mag. “Yes, we will go to the C-segment, and yes, we will go with a bigger battery – that is for sure. But we need to find the right timing to be sure we have a competitive offer.”
That means Renault will offer an EV similar in size to the Nissan LEAF, but Feunteun said that a smaller battery-powered city-car could also arrive to sit below the ZOE as part of Renault-Nissan-Mistubishi's goal of selling two million electric cars by 2025.
Anything bigger than a VW Golf-sized hatch has been ruled out because of cost, said Feuteun.
“If I do it with the cost of the battery today, then I will be at the price of my luxury competitors. If you want to go to C, D, E-segment – we can see what Tesla is doing, and Jaguar – you need to go with very big batteries.
"But that means very expensive cars. I’m a strong believer that the DNA of Renault is to bring affordable technology; the ZOE is the most affordable electric car on the market and price is the number one deciding factor."
The reference to timing and pricing is suggested as the reason why Renault does not plan to introduce its Volkswagen I.D. Neo-rival until around 2022.
That's mainly because by then the cost of battery technology will have fallen, ensuring the Renault hatch will be affordable to most buyers.
Likely to have styling inspired by the Renault Symbioz concept, the new pure-electric hatch is also set to come with the car-maker's latest autonomous driving aids.
It's reported the French I.D. Neo rival may also be based on an all-new dedicated platform created for Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi EVs in order to better package the batteries and maximise interior space.
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