Renault 5, at under €25,000, seeks to shake up small EV segment

GENEVA -- Renault Group’s emphatic response to the high cost of electric cars built in Europe, the €25,000 Renault 5 small EV, debuted on Monday at the Geneva auto show. 

The Renault 5, with its “retrofuturistic” styling, will come with two battery sizes and up to 400 km (250 miles) range, with three power levels. Its price will undercut existing small EVs on the market by thousands of euros.

The high cost of EVs, especially those made in Europe, has been cited as a roadblock to wider acceptance, and Renault says the 5 is a convincing answer to that problem.

“It’s at the heart of the battle to reinvent European industry against competition coming from the East and the West,” CEO Luca de Meo said in a statement ahead of the Geneva show. “With this vehicle we are proving that production in Europe, in France really is possible.”

The production version of the Renault 5 is nearly identical in appearance and dimensions to the concept version shown at the 2021 Munich auto show. The vehicle was developed in just three years, Renault says, instead of the customary four.

The Renault 5 is the first car launched by Ampere, Renault Group’s stand-alone EV subsidiary. It will be built in Douai, France, as part of the automaker’s ElectriCity cluster of car and component factories. Batteries will come from Envision AESC starting next year, with electric motors from Cleon, France. Renault says the 5 will take nine hours to build, faster than even Tesla.

The Renault 5 will face competition from a range of existing and coming models this year, mostly from Stellantis. Closest in base price will be the Citroen e-C3, which will start at €23,900 (and later include a sub-€20,000 short-range version), and an upcoming new Fiat Panda. 

Cars now on the market include the Opel Corsa-e and Peugeot e208, which are generally priced in the mid-€30,000 range, depending on countries and incentives, although Opel has just cut the price in Germany to less than €30,000.

Looking farther ahead, Volkswagen Group is expected to launch small EVs at around €25,000, including the VW ID2. Other competitors could include low-cost models from Hyundai/Kia and even Tesla, which has long been planning a small EV. Chinese brands have yet to attack the small hatchback market with full-electric models, although automakers such as BYD have those models in their Chinese ranges.

AmpR Small debuts

The Renault 5 is built on the AmpR Small platform, which helps cut costs by borrowing non-EV components such as the front suspension from the Renault-Nissan CMF-B platform. The rear multilink suspension comes from the compact Megane E-Tech.

The platform offers a long wheelbase (2540 mm) relative to the Renault 5’s length of 3920 mm, as well as a flat floor, a low center of gravity and reduced weight (less than 1,350 kg for the 40-kWh version).

It is 130 mm shorter than the Clio small hatchback, which has a full-hybrid option, and 300 mm longer than the current Twingo EV. The next-generation Twingo EV model is expected after 2025, with a base price of less than €20,000. 

The Renault 5 will initially be available with a 52-kilowatt-hour liquid-cooled battery pack, with a 40-kWh version with 300 km range offered later. 

Power output will be 70 or 90 kW (95 or 120 hp) with the 40 kWh battery, or 110 kW (150 hp) with the 52-kWh battery. The motor is 15 kg lighter than similar units in the compact Megane and Scenic E-Tech, with integrated components to save space, Renault says.

Maximum charging rate is 100 kW, with an 11 kW AC charger and 80 or 100 kW DC charger.

Top speed for the most-powerful mode is 150 kph, with 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) taking 8 seconds. 

The Renault 5 features a 11 kW bidirectional charger that allows for V2G (vehicle to grid) charging, which Renault says can save up to 50 percent on home charging. The car can also be used as a power source for 220-volt appliances.

Ties to the past

Under de Meo, Renault has turned to historical models for styling inspiration. The original Renault 5 was built from the early 1970s until the mid-1990s, including the homologation special R5 Turbo, with a mid-mounted engine and huge body flares. The new Renault 5 takes elements from the original model, the “Super Cinq” facelift, and the Turbo.

The Renault 5 will be followed by the Renault 4 small SUV, after the original rugged small station/hatchback that first appeared in the 1960s.

The 5's front fenders recall the original model, while vertical tail lights are from the Super Cinq. Front fog lamps, an aggressive stance and deeply bolstered front seats come from the Turbo. Inside, the padded two-level dashboard is drawn from the original. 

Fans of the original Renault 5 will recall that model’s bright color options, and the new Renault 5 offers bright “Pop Yellow” and “Pop Green” shades, as well as midnight blue, white and black options. A black roof is available on some trim lines.

Design touches intended to build a connection between drivers and the car include a wicker basket to hold baguettes, an illuminated “5” on the hood to show battery charge, and a customizable gear lever.

Google inside

The Renault 5’s interior is built around a horizontal version of the brand’s Google-based OpenR Link user interface, with a 10.1-inch digital instrument panel in front of the driver, paired to a 10-inch multimedia touchscreen. (Other Renault models with OpenR Link have a vertical touch screen).

OpenR Link includes Google Maps and Google Assistant, as well as about 50 apps available through Google Play.

A key debut on the Renault 5 is Reno, an on-screen avatar that answers questions about the car and its functions. It can also anticipate certain comfort or driving situations, such as offering to close the windows or switch to Eco mode in a traffic jam. Reno also integrated ChatGPT artificial intelligence to answer questions in a conversational way, Renault says.

Renault has designed “pop art” screen graphics for the Renault 5, with the ability to customize colors, densities and textures for about 130 different combinations.

Interior space is the same as the longer Clio, Renault says. Trunk space is 326 liters, with an additional 19 liters of cabin storage.