Renault launches Renault 5 electric car, starting at 25,000 euros According to reports, on February 26, Renault Group first released the Renault 5 small electric car with a starting price of 25,000 euros at the Geneva Motor Show, which is the company’s strong response to high-cost electric cars in Europe. The Renault 5, with its “retro” design, will be equipped with two battery specifications, with a maximum range of up to 400 kilometers. The new model will have three power levels to choose from, with prices lower by several thousand euros compared to existing small electric cars in the European market. Electric cars, especially high-cost European electric cars, have been seen as a major reason for their difficulty in popularization, and Renault says the Renault 5 will be able to solve this problem.
Renault CEO Luca de Meo declared ahead of the Geneva Motor Show: “This is about reshaping the European automotive industry to address competition from East and West. With this model, we prove our ability to produce in Europe, in France.” The production version of the Renault 5 is almost identical in appearance and size to the concept car unveiled at the 2021 Munich Motor Show. Renault says the development cycle for this model was only 3 years, traditionally a new car takes 4 years to develop. The Renault 5 is the first car launched by Ampere, Renault’s independent electric vehicle subsidiary. The car will be produced in Douai, France, as part of the Renault ElectriCity car and component factory cluster. The batteries for the vehicle will be provided by Envision Energy starting next year, while the motor will be provided by the French company Cleon. Renault states that the manufacturing time for the Renault 5 is 9 hours, even faster than Tesla. This year, the Renault 5 will face competition from several models already on the market or about to be launched, most of which will come from the Stellantis group. The closest in price to the Renault 5 is the Citroen e-C3, with a starting price of 23,900 euros, and Citroen will also release a short-range version of the e-C3 for less than 20,000 euros. Additionally, Fiat will release a new Panda model.
The Renault 5 is produced on the AmpR Small platform, which borrows non-electric vehicle components from the Renault-Nissan CMF-B platform. The rear multi-link suspension system of this platform comes from the compact Megane E-Tech. The AmpR Small platform offers a longer wheelbase and other advantages such as a flat floor, lower center of gravity, and lighter weight. At launch, Renault will offer a version with a 52 kWh liquid-cooled battery pack, and in the future, a 40 kWh version will be available with a range of 300 kilometers. The 40 kWh version will have options of 70 kW and 90 kW, while the 52 kWh version will reach 110 kW. The top speed of the new model is 150 km/h, with 0-100 km/h acceleration in 8 seconds. The Renault 5 supports up to 100 kW fast charging, with an 11 kW AC charging port and 80 or 100 kW DC charging port. It is equipped with an 11 kW bidirectional charger, allowing the vehicle to charge the grid and save up to 50% of home charging costs. Additionally, the vehicle can power 220V appliances.
The interior of the Renault 5 features a horizontal version of the OpenR Link user interface based on Google, with a 10.1-inch digital instrument panel in front of the driver and a 10-inch multimedia touchscreen. Other Renault models equipped with OpenR Link use a vertical touchscreen. OpenR Link includes Google Maps and Google Assistant, and owners can download about 50 apps through Google Play. The car’s infotainment system also includes a virtual assistant named Reno, which can answer questions about the vehicle and its functions. Additionally, it can adjust the vehicle’s status based on driving conditions, such as automatically closing windows or switching to eco-friendly mode in traffic. Renault states that Reno also integrates ChatGPT artificial intelligence to interactively answer driver questions. Renault states that the interior space of the Renault 5 is the same as the extended version of the Clio, with a 326-liter trunk space and an additional 19 liters of cabin storage space.