The electric R5 is one of Renault’s future flagship models. The diamond brand is counting heavily on the redesign of this legendary model to establish itself in the segment of electric city cars. Of course, the price will be a determining factor in its success. To reduce it, Renault already has several ideas.
To ensure its leading position in the electric car market in the coming years, Renault intends to rely on a well-worn but effective spring: nostalgia. In effect, the manufacturer intends to launch electric reissues of two legendary models : the R5 and the 4L.
With the R5 e-Tech, the stated ambitions are already great. For good reason, the diamond brand hopes to impose itself on the segment of electric city cars with this model. To do this, Renault will first take care to trim prices and make people forget the €35,000 requested for the Zoé.
During the presentation of the Renaulution strategy towards the end of January 2023, the manufacturer promised to offer the electric R5 under the €25,000 mark. A symbolic price, which will allow the city car to rub shoulders with the Volkswagen ID.2 or the mysterious Tesla Model 2.
But how does Renault intend to proceed to reduce costs precisely? The company comes from give some details about his method during a conference dedicated to the genesis of this watted version of the R5.
A whole new cheaper platform
First of all, the R5 e-Tech will be based on a different platform from that of the Zoé. Indeed, the manufacturer has opted for the CMF-BEV. This platform was developed from that used on the Clio, namely the CMF-B. In this way, the two platforms share 70% of the coins.
What drastically reduce the production costs of the R5, and by extension its selling price. Especially since this base is 30% cheaper than that of the Zoé. Note that we will find the CMF-BEV on the 4L as well.
A brand new battery
After the platform, Renault worked on a new battery. On this point, the manufacturer was rather nebulous. We just know she’ll board 4 large modules instead of 12 on the Zoé, which allows reduce its weight by 15 kg. Renault announces that it will be able “to transport more kWh in a smaller volume” without giving any precise figures unfortunately.
An engine derived from the Mégane e-Tech
Then Renault made changes to the engine. For the R5, the manufacturer has developed a new engine block, inspired by that of the Mégane e-Tech. This wound-rotor synchronous motor offers better performance than that of the magnet motor. Besides, it is more environmentally friendlysince it does not require rare earths for its manufacture (unlike permanent magnets).
Attentionall is not rosy however with this type of engine. Powering the rotor causes heat, which inevitably increases the risk of overheating. Also, brushes are essential to make contact with the rotor in order to supply it with energy. Inevitably, these elements can wear out over time and break. The manufacturer itself recommends changing them every 70,000 km on the Zoe.
By the way, Renault has completely revised the organization of this engine block, so as to reduce its weight by about twenty kg. As you will have understood, with the R5, Renault has adopted a simple but profitable strategy: reduction of weight and necessary materials, adaptation and pooling of existing technologies (platforms) to achieve a reduction in price.
