Renault signs deal to build new low-cost Twingo EV in Slovenia

Renault Group and the government of Slovenia have signed a memorandum of understanding to produce the next Twingo all-electric minicar in the automaker's factory in Novo Mesto starting in 2026.

The new Twingo is expected to sell for less than €20,000, Renault CEO Luca de Meo has said. It will replace the current model, which was developed with Smart and included both ICE and EV versions and which is now out of production. 

Production will start with an annual output of 150,000 vehicles, officials said. They declined to disclose the amount of investment involved.

The memorandum of understanding was signed at the plant, which has been producing Renault vehicles since 1973, by Prime Minister Robert Golob and Renault executives, the STA news agency reported on July 24.

"Today we are signing the commitment of Renault and the government to jointly develop a production line for a new electric car at this location," Golob said. He confirmed on July 22 that the new Twingo would be built in Slovenia.

Plant officials said the deal will enable the Novo Mesto factory to sustain production and retain 1,400 current employees after a previous deal to produce the current Twingo and electric Twingo models ended. The factory currently builds the Renault Clio small car in a single shift.

The new Twingo was unveiled for investors last autumn, and de Meo said it would be developed in a "record" two years to compete with Chinese automakers.

He described it as a "silver bullet for sustainable urban mobility," and compared it to Japanese kei cars – low-cost urban runabouts that have very small gasoline engines. 

Renault said the Twingo would have a monthly cost of less than €100 – without offering details -- and "best-in-class" energy consumption of 10 kilowatt hours per 100 km, which would be 50 percent better than current small EVs.

The Twingo is expected to be based on a version of the AmpR Small platform that underpins the new Renault 5 small EV.

Renault and Volkswagen Group had been in talks to share development costs for the new Twingo, with VW getting its own version. However, talks broke down this spring and each company will develop its own low-cost EVs.

Instead, Renault will work with a Chinese engineering company to develop the Twingo, it said in May. "The development of the car will be done with a Chinese partner to improve our development lead time and costs," a Renault spokesperson said at the time.

The styling and advanced engineering project is being done in France, the spokesperson added.

Renault's outgoing CTO, Gilles Le Borgne, told Automotive News Europe that the automaker is aiming for a production time of less than 10 hours for the Twingo.

Potential competitors include the new Citroen e-C3, which will have a shorter-range version next year at less than €20,000; future VW Group low-cost models; and the T03 from Leapmotor, which has a partnership with Stellantis and is likely to be assembled in Europe.

BYD could also import the Seagull, which sells for less than €10,000 in China, but could face high tariffs in Europe. 

Reuters contributed to this report