The French car manufacturer Renault presented today at the annual Geneva Motor Show its new electric model R5, nostalgically similar to its famous ancestor from 1972 and its fiery version "R5 Turbo" - the French rally champion.
The "R5 electrique" should attract customers with its design: vertical tail lights similar to those of the 1970s, bright colors, anatomical seats, rear spoiler. And as a symbol of the electric revolution, the R5 does not have a ventilation mask on the hood, but along it is a series of lights - battery charging indicators.
The R5 is the successor to the "Zoe" as Renault's smallest electric model and, after difficult years, is a symbol of the company's revival achieved by more expensive models during 2023.
The new model arrives "at a time when there will be a major shift of millions of Europeans towards electric, connected and sustainable mobility," said Renault CEO Luca de Meo in a statement.
He stated that there is a "battle to find European industry again in the face of competition from the East and the West. We are thus proving that production in Europe, in France - is possible," said De Meo, who led the revival of the small Fiat 500.
Within the Renault group, the Dacia Spring is currently the cheapest electric car on the market, but it is manufactured in China. At the top end of the scale is the electric Renault "Megan", whose sales are weaker than expected.
The R5 is positioned between those two ends, but in the economical and multipurpose sector of "compact" - small vehicles, and its special challenge will be the future electric Citroen C3.
The R5 will cost around 25.000 euros. First, the more expensive versions equipped with batteries that offer the greatest autonomy (about 400 kilometers) will arrive on the market, and then this year also the other versions (300 kilometers of autonomy).
Shorter than the Clio, the R5 is nevertheless spacious enough and not too heavy for an electric car, as it does not exceed 1.450 kilograms in the heaviest versions. Its batteries will be produced in France from 2025.
The first trained vehicles will only be in "pop green" color to stand out on the street.
"Everything has been done to make it a postmodern, futuristic car, in no way nostalgic," Renault designer Gilles Vidal said.
In the coming months, Renault should present an electric version of its even more famous model - the Renault 4, an international hit from the 1960s.
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