Renault ute will be called Alaskan

The showroom version of Renault's inaugural one-tonne ute will be called the Alaskan when it arrives in Australia in 2017, but its interior won't be significantly different to the Nissan NP300 Navara on which it's based.

Speaking at the Frankfurt motor show, Renault design chief Laurens van den Acker confirmed the name of the Alaskan pick-up concept will carry through to production.

"It wouldn't make sense to call it something else," he said.

The French car-maker's global design boss said the dual-cab ute – which will be available in other styles and features unique sheet metal from the windscreen forward, fresh headlights and tail-lights, a tough Renault-badged grille and front bumper and a new tailgate – won't bring a bespoke interior.

Van den Acker said the Alaskan's cabin, which is yet to be revealed, will be a "modified" version of the Navara's rather than all-new.

"I'd love to start from scratch but from a realistic point of view given the volumes that we will have, given the investments that are needed, the buck stops somewhere," he said.

The Alaskan's design director Louis Morasse previously said the show car was "95 per cent" production-ready but that fanciful accessories like the retractable roof-mounted satellite dish, tray storage boxes and lighting, huge 21-inch alloy wheels, fancy door-handles and wing mirror-mounted cameras would not reach production.

Van den Acker said that designing Renault's first global one-tonne pick-up was a highlight of his career.

"It was quite fun to do a pick-up truck in the middle of a Paris design studio, because a French truck is... I don't want to say a contradiction but it was something very interesting to do.

"I was lucky because I worked in the US for about eight years with Ford, so I think in my design team I was one of the few who had ever worked on a truck before.

"Because we have no history we can only do better. If we do a good job we might sell a few. It was really a fun project without too much pressure and I think it shows."

The Renault style chief said his team attempted to inject French flair into a tough design that would be accepted in the cliquey global one-tonne market, in which Australia is the fourth largest player.

"A truck is probably the last place to expect Frenchness, because from what I understand the customers are extremely loyal, extremely hooked to their truck and the last they want is something else.

"Because the truck is probably starting in South America, which is heavily influenced by GM and Ford, we try to respect their codes."

Van den Acker said the Alaskan would leverage global demand for mid-size 'lifestyle' pick-ups and be Renault's flagship in some countries.

"This was my biggest discovery when I went to the US. I always thought trucks were utilitarian vehicles but when I went there I discovered they are lifestyle vehicles. The amount of times you see a truck driving with a full bed is less than 10 per cent.

"I think the one-tonne pick-up was never a big success in the US because for a little bit more money you can buy a full-size [pick-up], so why bother with a mid-size?

"But the mid-size pick-up everywhere else is leading and a pick-up truck really is the best tool you can dream of. Of course people buy them for rational reasons but it's also their business card, a representation of their business so they're quite aspirational.

"Alaskan will be our flagship in many markets, not the Espace. The Espace is a typical European flagship, but in most countries it will be the Alaskan and in others it will be the D crossover [Koleos replacement].

"We have so much reputation to build; we're going to a new segment where people don't know us. We're not starting from scratch – we have some experience in LCVs – but we have to be honest. It's going to be a long haul. No pun intended."

As we've reported, Renault Australia is bullish about the opportunity presented by its first entrant in a sales segment that accounts for about 200,000 annual sales.

The Alaskan will be powered by the same 140kW/450Nm 2.3-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine as the Navara, which should also donate its six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic transmissions. Renault has promised best-in-class fuel economy and a payload of more than one tonne.

The rest of the NP300's mechanical package also carries over, including coil springs at all four corners (as opposed to the rear leaf springs in most utes), while a benchmark 3500kg towing capacity is likely.

Mercedes-Benz has also announced plans to produce its first pick-up by 2020, based on the same platform but powered by its own engines and wrapped in its own sheet metal.