Renault 5 E-Tech targets all-French production from 2025

French automaker Renault has unveiled its new electric Renault 5 E-Tech, committing to producing the vehicle entirely in France from summer 2025.

Vehicles and batteries will be assembled at its Douai plant in northern France, while the motor — electric machine, reduction gear and power electronics — will be manufactured at Cleon and the battery modules produced by the Douai gigafactory. Renault boast that parts and components will be provided by a "compact supply chain with a less than 300km radius", reducing the carbon footprint of production.

“This commitment to competitive local production is the basis for the development of a European electric valley, specialising in the value chain of electric vehicles,” Renault says.

It is battery production at Renault's joint venture with Chinese battery maker Envision AESC that is identified as needing to wait until summer 2025, whereas the car itself will go on sale in October — and thus production will need to kick in this summer. EV inFocus assumes that batteries will be imported for the first year of production.

The new 5 E-Tech is the first vehicle to be designed entirely on the new Ampere platform dedicated to B-segment electric vehicles, the AmpR Small. The vehicle will come with two battery sizes – 40 kWh for a range of 300km or 52kWh for a range of 400km. It will start from €25,000 in Europe.

It will also feature an 11kW AC bidirectional charger that will enable consumers to use the vehicle as a battery asset, selling power back to the grid at times of peak demand.

Growing marketplace

In other launch news, Stellantis brand Peugeot has released a teaser video showcasing the interior of its new large electric SUV the E-5008.

The vehicle will be fully launched in March this year.

Elsewhere in the market, Ineos last week unveiled its all-electric 4x4, the Fusilier. Ineos will also produce an ICE range-extender model of the Fusilier to assuage range anxiety concerns.

This model contains a small petrol engine that powers a generator to maintain battery levels when external charging isn’t available.

“As we developed this vehicle, we quickly concluded that in order to move towards decarbonisation but continue making cars that consumers want to drive, we need a mix of powertrain technologies,” says Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of Ineos.