While these cars will be based on a new platform, separate from the 5’s CMF-BEV structure, it’s likely that the supermini will be able to take advantage of the promised technological developments – chiefly a new battery chemistry that’s claimed to cut costs by up to 50% and support sub-15min charge times in its most advanced form.
Before that, in 2026, Renault will swap its mainstream EV batteries – including that in the 5 – from NMC to LFP, which it says will reduce costs by 20% while having no impact on range. It’s not yet clear whether that will translate directly to an identical reduction in list price, but if it does, the 5 could drop below £20,000 in the UK.
The 5 is headed to UK dealerships in the coming weeks, having already become the best-selling electric car in Renault’s home market of France, where it was launched in October last year – aping the success of the original Renault 5, which was France’s best-selling car from 1972-1986.
Cambolive hailed the R5’s early critical and commercial success as a sign of its potential to claim a large share of Europe’s EV market but said he doesn’t expect it to immediately be as popular as its petrol-powered siblings, the Clio and Dacia Sandero.
He said: “Even though we are in the fifth year of the Clio, last year it was number two in Europe, just after Sandero, with both cars increasing a lot. But I don’t know if we have to fix or to pursue objectives like that – to be number one and so on. For me, what is important is the capacity of R5 to break the glass ceiling of EV adoption.”
The role of the Renault 5 is primarily a conquest one, Cambolive said, with the aim that customers buy the supermini “not because they want to go to an EV, but because they want the R5”.
“The main objective is to extend our coverage to the other price brackets up to €25,000,” he said – referencing the upcoming Renault 4 crossover and Twingo supermini that will round out Renault’s line-up of small, affordable EVs – “and then we will count the sales.”
But, Cambolive said, while outright sales dominance is not the ultimate target for the 5, “I don’t see any reason not to be among the leaders on the market next year”.
