PARIS -- Renault's future full-electric small cars will use a modified version of the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s CMF-B platform, including the reborn Renault 5 and a new model to come from high-performance brand Alpine, CEO Luca de Meo said.
The news about the architecture – which Renault calls CMF-B EV -- answers one question about the group’s future products.
Renault announced several years ago that compact and midsize EVs would be built on a platform called CMF-EV, which was developed with alliance partner Nissan. The first two compact models on that platform, the Nissan Ariya and a production version of the Renault Megane eVision concept, will appear before 2022.
But it was unclear what would underpin the successor to the current Zoe small EV, which has been in Renault’s lineup since late 2012, and other small electric cars.
De Meo said last week in announcing the “Renaulution” turnaround plan that all small cars launched by 2025 would be “100 percent electric” -- presumably on the CMF-B EV architecture.
“We will derive an electric version (for small cars) from the CMF platform in order to have a complete offer,” Renault engineering chief Giles le Borgne said during the presentation of the plan.
Le Borgne said it was an alliance platform. He did not give any other details, although an image of the platform shows reduced front and rear overhangs and a flat battery floor to optimize interior space.
The CMF-B EV platform is crucial to the Renault brand because its two best-selling models – the Clio and Captur – are in the small-car segment, also called the B-segment. Sales of vehicle's in the segment account for two-thirds Renault's sales by volume.
De Meo described Renault’s future model plan as “reconquering the C segment while defending B segment leadership.”