PARIS – Renault will give operative independence to its highly profitable commercial van unit and is planning a new electric modular vehicle in cooperation with another, unnamed company.
CEO Luca de Meo said Tuesday in an update of his Renaulution strategic plan that a standalone unit will be able to unlock more value from a sector that plays a key role in Renault Group’s profitability.
“LCV has always been a profitable segment for us, accounting historically for around 20 percent of our earnings,” de Meo said.
Vans were a cross-company unit at the Renault-Nissan Alliance under former Chairman Carlos Ghosn but did not have their own profit and loss statement.
Rival automaker Stellantis in March announced it was going to create a fully independent global commercial vehicles business unit.
Vans have historically been a separate unit also for the Volkswagen brand and, more recently, at Ford of Europe.
Read more: 9 things to know about Renault's new strategy
Kerrigan Advisors recently sat down with Donnie and Denny Buckalew, co-owners of Buckalew Chevrolet, the 5th highest-volume Chevrolet dealership in Houston, Texas, to discuss their perspective on the changing auto retail industry and how challenges facing single-point dealers influenced their decision to sell their dealership.
Renault, which says it has a 14 percent market share in a European van market worth an estimated 60 billion euros in revenue this year according to S&P Global Mobility, says it hopes to benefit from two market trends.
The first is an annual growth of 10 percent per year in “last mile” delivery vans because of a surge in online retailing, and the second is new emissions and pollution regulations that de Meo says will require the replacement of about 30 percent of the existing fleet by 2030. The vast majority of vans on the road today are diesel powered.
On Tuesday, de Meo announcd that Renault would launch in 2026 an electric, modular model called FlexEVan. It will be based on a “skateboard” platform designed to boost flexibility and personalization, and can could be upgraded with new batteries and offer software-defined functions.
The FlexEVan will have the size of a Kangoo compact van but a cargo space equal to a larger Trafic medium van, de Meo said. It will be produced by a new, dedicated company called Flexis and will be developed in cooperation with another, unnamed “OEM.” De Meo did not identify the company but said it would not be another automaker.
He said that FlexEVan would have a total cost of ownership (TCO) that is 30 percent less than existing models. He estimated TCO at about 100,000 euros for the life cycle of a van, of which 20- 30,000 euros is the purchase price. One version of the FlexEVan has already been revealed in concept form: The Hippo, from Renault's Mobilize mobility services unit.
The Hippo is based on the earlier EZ Flex concept, which is already undergoing early tests with potential customers.
Hydrogen partnership
In addition to electric vans, Renault is also looking to hydrogen-powered vans, which supporters say are better suited for longer trips because of a shorter refueling time. Renault has created Hyvia, a joint venture with the U.S. startup Plug, with the goal of 30 percent market share for hydrogen vans in Europe by 2030.
Plug will produce “green” hydrogen (produced with renewable energy) fuel stations and supply fuel cell systems to Renault. Renault will build the vans, and run fleet management and recharging infrastructure.
Rival Stellantis already offers hydrogen fuel-cell powered medium vans for Citroen, Peugeot and Opel, working with partners including supplier Faurecia and Symbio, a joint venture of Faurecia and tiremaker Michelin.
