PARIS -- Renault’s new CMF-B EV platform, which will underpin the coming Renault 5 small full-electric car due in 2024, will share 70 percent of components with the CMF-B internal-combustion-engine platform and be 30 percent cheaper to manufacture than existing EV platforms, the automaker said.
The architecture and a new EV powertrain are undergoing prototype testing with a Renault Clio bodyshell, Renault said Thursday.
CMF-B EV will be used in at least four announced new EVs: The Renault 5 hatchback and a high-performance Alpine version, the Renault 4 small SUV, and a successor to the Nissan Micra small hatchback. The wheelbase and track can be adjusted to fit different models, Renault says.
The battery, which replaces the floorplan of the CMF-B platform, is partly a structural member, and adding weight in that position lowers the center of gravity, which Renault says creates better handling.
Cars on the platform will be built at Renault’s ElectriCity group of factories in northern France, which now assemble two electric models, the compact Renault Megane E-Tech and the Renault Kangoo E-Tech, a compact van (including versions for Mercedes and Nissan).