Renault adds full-hybrid option to Captur SUV range

PARIS – Renault is expanding its range of electrified vehicles with a full-hybrid version of the Captur small SUV, after launching a plug-in hybrid Captur this summer.

In addition to high-voltage hybrids, Renault is introducing 12-volt mild hybrid drivetrains on its 1.3-liter gasoline engine, which was co-developed with Daimler. The mild hybrids, which incorporate an electric starter/alternator, will appear on the Captur and the coming Arkana coupe-styled compact SUV. They are available with 140 hp or 160 hp.

The new drivetrain options will be available in the first half of 2021, Renault said. 

Renault’s hybrids are built around the automaker’s E-Tech system, which has a clutchless transmission with two electric motors that Renault says allows for longer electric-only range, especially in urban driving. 

The E-Tech system is based on a 1.6-liter four-cylinder naturally aspirated gasoline engine, with two electric motors: A 15 kilowatt starter/generator, and a 35 kW drive motor. Renault says the plug-in variant allows up to 50 km of driving in electric-only mode, while the full-hybrid E-Tech can allow “up to 80 percent” of urban driving in EV mode.

Other E-Tech models already announced include the Clio full-hybrid small hatchback, the Megane plug-in hybrid station wagon and a full-hybrid version of the Arkana. 

The full-hybrid Captur will use the same drivetrain as the Clio, which produces 140 hp and has a 1.2 kilowatt-hour battery. The plug-in Captur has a 9.8 kW battery and produces 160 hp. 

Renault did not release emissions figures for the full-hybrid Captur, but the plug-in model is rated at 32 grams of CO2 per km on the WLTP mixed cycle. The full-hybrid Clio is rated at 96 g/km, a 12 percent decrease from the cleanest diesel versions. The cleanest diesel version of the Captur has emissions of 124 g/km; a similar reduction with a full-hybrid powertrain would lower emissions to about 110 g/km.

Renault was an early mover in full-electric vehicles after a 4 billion euro investment in the early 2010s under then-CEO Carlos Ghosn, who had expressed skepticism about the business case for hybrid powertrains. 

However, Ghosn’s 2017 Drive the Future strategic plan included the launch of a dozen hybrid models by 2022, covering 30 percent of Renault’s range, compared with 20 percent full-electric models. 

The Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro small SUVs have full-hybrid versions. In addition to the Captur, other coming models include the Toyota Yaris Cross, which will be launched next year with an all-wheel-drive option, and the next-generation Honda HRV.

The Captur was the best-selling small SUV in Europe in the first half of 2020, with 70,148 sales, just ahead of the Volkswagen T-Roc, according to data from JATO Dynamics. The Captur also led all plug-in models of all sizes in sales in France in September, with 899 registrations, according to the French EV data agency Avere.