Lighter, cheaper and with a longer range: The Renault 5 should do a lot better than its predecessor Zoe. And also against the new competition from Germany.
In the race for the electric small car market, Renault is ahead. The French want to bring Zoe’s successor to the streets in less than a year. The Renault 5 is said to be around a third cheaper to produce than its predecessor. And also surpass it in other respects – including a newly designed battery. With the Renault 5, the French combine the cells into just four large modules, which enables a simpler and lighter architecture than the previously used design with twelve smaller modules. A total of 15 kilograms are to be saved in this way, and at the same time the energy density of the battery pack increases. The French promise that the future Renault 5 will provide more kWh capacity with less installation space. In addition, the electric motor is 20 kg lighter than that of the Zoe. The Renault approach is a kind of intermediate step to the so-called cell-to-pack design, in which the combination of the cells in modules would be completely eliminated. The accommodation directly in the battery housing is considered more complex, but saves space, since module walls and plug connections are omitted. Renault does not provide more detailed information about the battery of the Zoe successor, but the capacity of the basic model should be around 40 kWh. The best R5 variants are said to offer ranges of more than 400 kilometers.Duel with the VW ID.2The Renault 5, which has a retro design, will come onto the market at the beginning of 2024. About a year later, the Nissan Micra will follow as a technology brother, but which looks different should stand out clearly. The French small car is primarily competing for market share with the VW ID.2, which will be launched later. The Wolfsburg company promises prices below 25,000 euros for the basic model, which the French could also achieve if the announced reduction in production costs is reflected directly in the end customer price. It remains to be seen who has the edge in terms of range. The 450 kilometers promised for the VW should probably not refer to the cheap basic model. (SPX)
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