Why Renault expects the Mobilize Duo quadricycle to succeed

PARIS -- Renault has installed production capacity of 17,000 units annually for the Mobilize Duo, the automaker’s second attempt at building an electric quadricycle after the Twizy.

Executives at Mobilize, Renault Group's mobility services unit, say the market has changed since the Twizy's launch in 2012, with more needs for car-sharing and urban deliveries, as well as for vehicles that can be driven without a car license.

The Duo, which will be built in Tanger, Morocco, shares about 10 percent of its components with the Twizy, mainly its tube frame and front-and-back motocycle-style seating, but the rest of the design has been significantly improved, Renault says. Unlike the Twizy, the Duo has proper doors, an airbag, seat cushions and air conditioning.

It will be available through car-sharing companies and leased to fleets or private customers, but retail sales are not planned for now. There will be a cargo version called the Bento with a 1-cubic-meter box at the rear. 

Read more: Renault Twizy successor adds range, speed and comfort

The quirky Twizy turned heads when it was launched in 2012, with annual sales topping 9,000 that year. But after years of declining sales, the Twizy was largely relegated to the sidelines of Renault’s electrification push. Recently it has been assembled in Renault Group’s factory in Busan, South Korea. 

Now, with the rise of car-sharing, stricter emissions standards and the rising cost of new cars, electric quadricycles may be having a revival.

Stellantis introduced the Citroen Ami in 2020 and already has more than doubled capacity to 50,000 and launched an Opel version, the Rocks-e, with a Fiat version potentially called the Topolino in the works. 

Like the Duo, the Ami and its derivatives are built in Morocco, at Stellantis’ factory in Kenitra.

Mobilize is particularly enthusiastic about deploying the Duo in urban car-sharing programs, a notoriously money-losing venture for most companies. Mobilize has already lowered costs over the Renault Zoe small car by using the China-built Dacia Spring -- but the Duo will cut costs even more, executives say. The total cost of usage for the Duo is expected to be 35 percent below the Zoe.

The Duo is easily washed and cleaned, which is critical to lower maintenance costs. There are few interior components that can be broken by users, either intentionally or by accident. And the butterfly-style doors open upward, so users won't bump the car next to them.

Another expected use case for the Duo is company fleets for urban use, for example, an electric utility.

The Bento version is likely to find fans among artisans and delivery people in urban areas, Mobilize says. Its seating position offers a very small footprint, allowing three to park perpendicular in a single space (if local regulations allow it). This is important because last-mile delivery companies and many workers in urban areas pay high parking fines as a cost of doing business.

The Duo is 2430 mm (95.7 inches) long. Top speed is 45 kph (28 mph) for the “light quadricycle” version, which can be driven without a license by people as young as 14; the “heavy” version has a top speed of 80 kph (50 mph) and requires a license. Range is around 140 km (87 miles).

Even so, beyond the Duo, which will launch in late 2023, and the Ami, no other major European automaker has taken a chance on the electric quadricycle market. VW’s Seat brand showed the Minimo quadricycle in 2019 (when it was led by current Renault CEO Luca de Meo), but it did not enter production. 

The Microlino, a BMW Isetta-inspired vehicle from the Swiss-based scooter maker Micro, has just entered production, although it will sell for much more than the Ami (starting at 7,790 euros; leases start at 19.99 euros a month with a first payment of 3,445 euros) or the Duo (no prices announced but expected to lease for a similar price as the Ami).