RENAULT 5. The diamond brand took advantage of the 2023 edition of Roland-Garros to unveil the eponymous special series of the R5, expected next year. What to discover a little more about the long-awaited electric city car from Renault.
[Updated on May 31, 2023 at 4:52 p.m.] It was as part of the French Tennis Open that Renault presented, on May 28, 2023, a special Roland-Garros series of the electric R5 that the diamond brand should market in the second half of the year 2024. A model announced to be 95% faithful to the production version, which allows us to discover a little more about the contours of the future R5, destined to become the new queen of electric city cars at Renault.
In any case, this is the wish of the French manufacturer, which has embarked on a vast electric program with the marketing of six models grouped together in a new entity of the diamond brand, Ampère, by 2030. The famous R5, very expected, will be completely modernized thanks to the design work of François Leboine.
For Luca Di Meo, Renault boss, “the objective with this R5 is to make it the only electric city car in the range with a base price of less than €20,000 (excluding bonuses)”. The R5 will be manufactured in France at the Douai plant and is to take over from the Renault Twingo and even the Renault Zoé, the brand’s first electric star, launched on the market in 2013.
Renault unveiled the first images of its electric R5 concept at the start of 2021.
Launched in 1972, the R5 remains recognizable almost 50 years later by its characteristic features. The city car will remain very compact with a big touch of modernity. “The design of Renault 5 Prototype is inspired by a cult model from our heritage. This model simply embodies modernity, a vehicle anchored in its time: urban, electric, charming” explains Gilles Vidal, Renault design director since 2020 and ex-head of Peugeot design who had already caused a sensation with his neo-retro model presented at the 2018 Paris Motor Show, the Peugeot e-Legend.
Renault has not announced any price for the moment but by peeling the product plan presented, we can assume that the R5 will arrive to replace the Zoé in the segment of the small electric city car. Therefore, it will be necessary to be smart and economical. The Argus announces that if the R5 will aim to compete with the electric Fiat 500, Honda E or electric Mini, the objective would be to sell this new electric look R5 at 20,000 euros. For this, the technical basis could be an electrified version of a proven and profitable platform, for example the CMF-B on which the latest Clio 5 and new Captur 2 are based.
If Renault has unveiled its plan to release six electric models by 2030, the Argus announces that the launch of the future electric R5, on which the brand is betting a lot, should take place at the end of summer 2024. And, good news for the group’s French factories, this R5 will be assembled in France, with assembly planned at the Douai factory. The electric motor, the 6AK, will be made in Cléon, Normandy.
