Renault to introduce 180km/h speed limiter on all cars

Renault has announced that it will soon limit all its vehicles' top speed to 180km/h.

Following in the tyre tracks of Volvo, which will also introduce a self-imposed 180km/h speed limit, the French car-maker says that from 2022 its all-new Renault Megane-E will come with automatic speed limiters.

The limits will also apply to Renault's budget brand Dacia.

In a meeting with shareholders, Renault boss Luca de Meo said the new speed limiter was necessary as the car-maker believes high speed is a major contributor to road deaths.

Instead of a simple speed limiter, de Meo said future Renault and Dacia models would come equipped with something called a Safety Coach that would adjust the top speed of every vehicle not only to local speed limits but also to take into consideration road and weather conditions.

De Meo attributed speed being responsible for a third of all fatal car crashes.

"A speed limit is not a panacea, but it is worth it if you can save even a human life," he said.

Back in 2019 Volvo announced it would introduce a 180km/h speed limits to all vehicles made from 2020.

Drawing much criticism at the time, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson described how it was important to take leadership in the discussion over the link between speed and fatalities.

Volvo has declared that it will also monitor driver behaviour in future, too, to ensure its owners are not driving while distracted by their mobile phones or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.