Renault to unveil 'affordable' electric city car, report says

Renault will reveal the launch of an additional "affordable" city electric car during this week's capital markets day for its new EV unit Ampere, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The move is part of the automaker's efforts to reassure investors and push ahead with the stock market listing of its EV business, which has been complicated by weak demand for EVs and increased Chinese competition.

The Renault-branded vehicle, which will be smaller than the planned relaunched version of cult R5 hatchback, is expected to be built at the Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia, two of the sources said. The factory builds Renault's Twingo combustion engine city car.

Ampere has said it plans to bring six EV models to the market by 2030. The new model is scheduled to go on sale in 2026, one of the sources said.

Ampere targets 600,000 produced electric vehicles in 2026 and one million in 2031.

Renault sold just under 50,000 electric Megane and Kangoo vehicles, its current models, last year. It flagged the arrival of electrified Scenic and R5 models for 2024, followed by the R4, in 2025.

Having pioneered the market for first-generation electric vehicles with its long-time ally Nissan in the early 2010s, Renault has recently fallen behind pure players like Tesla and Asian manufacturers as global competition for greener vehicles has picked up.

Ampere's separation from the rest of Renault and planned market listing next spring is a major plank of the automaker's turnaround strategy.

Renault's investor day will be held on Wednesday.