► Part of the new ‘Renaulution’ plan► Classic looks, modern powertrain
► A retro rival to the Honda E?
Renault has confirmed that a production version of its retro-futuristic 5 EV is coming, set to be built in Northern France. The brand says that the new 5 EV will be one of 10 battery-electric cars to go on sale by 2025.
The new 5 EV will use a battery-electric version of its CMF-B platform (used on the Renault Clio and Captur, along with the Nissan Juke) named CMF-BEV, with Renault promising around 248 miles of range from the platform. It’s a smaller version of the CMF-EV platform used by the new Nissan Ariya, upcoming Renault MeganE (coming in 2022) and Alpine’s new all-electric range of cars.
This announcement came as part of an online ‘ElectroPop’ event Renault held, where it described how it aims to make 90 per cent of its European sales fully electric.
Read on for more details about the 5 EV prototype.
Renault 5 EV prototype: the full story
Former PSA design grandee Gilles Vidal has jumped ship to Renault and his design team took a chunk of inspiration from the classic Renault 5 hatch, but haven’t simply replicated it. As Honda did with the E, and Fiat with the 500e, the new 5 concept has also been modernised and electrified.
‘The design of the Renault 5 Prototype is based on the R5, a cult model of our heritage,’ said Vidal, Renault’s new design director. ‘This prototype simply embodies modernity, a vehicle relevant to its time: urban, electric, attractive.’
Like the original, the new protoype is an angular city car – and features selective yellow headlights for a very French retro flourish – but this time round it’s an EV.
The original’s bonnet intake is retained in the prototype, but here it hides a charging hatch. Elsewhere, the original’s foglights are carried over, but they’re now daytime running lights.
And like almost all electric cars we’ve seen right now, the badges light up.
Keyword: Renault 5 EV confirmed for production