- Renault teased new photos of its Renault 5 prototypes, the small electric car set to be fully revealed next year.
- The company is testing these prototypes behind camouflage on European roads, but are now true-to-design of the final product being revealed to consumers next year.
- This process helps iron out any snags in the manufacturing process before real production starts.
The Renault 5’s final form
Renault has given us new teaser photos of the production-prototype for the upcoming Renault 5, and you’ll be glad to see that they look remarkably similar to the much-hyped prototype, which put a modern spin on the original 1970s model.
Compared to the 2021 concept, the only noticeable difference is the switch away from flush door handles, like those on the Tesla Model 3. This is likely a cost saving measure, as Renault are reportedly aiming for a price tag around £20,000. This would undercut the similarly retro Fiat 500e’s starting price of around £26,000, helping it to stay competitive in the small electric car market.
The CMF-B EV platform being used for the Renault 5 will also find its way inside an upcoming Nissan Micra EV, as well as a performance variant of the 5 by Renault’s motorsport marque Alpine. This too will help keep the Renault 5 competitively priced.
Renault 5 production
The company is building these production prototypes of the Renault 5 at its top-secret ‘Technocentre’ near Paris, which emulates the production lines and processes of a full-scale automotive factory.
This, Renault says, helps them to “produce prototypes that accurately represent future production models to validate the industrial assembly process, naturally keeping pace with development phases”. Renault will build over 60 of these prototypes, and test them on the road in extreme conditions to ensure reliability in the final product.
Production of the final product will instead take place at its Douai plant, just south of Lille. With a consumer reveal in 2024, we can expect the Renault 5 to go on sale before 2025.
