Today it became known that the subcompact Renault Twingo hatchback will not change its registration when changing generations: despite the fact that engineering of the new Twingo is the responsibility of a mysterious Chinese partner; the fourth generation hatchback will be produced in the same place as the “third” Twingo — at the Slovenian Renault plant in the city of Novo Mesto.
The new, not yet presented Renault Twingo had a difficult fate: the French company showed it in the form of a design prototype in November last year and promised to bring the production version to the market in 2026. The new Twingo will be electric; in design it resembles the first-generation hatchback of the same name, but does not yet have technical filling.
The platforms available to the Renault Group are too expensive and in their current form do not allow the new Twingo to provide the promised starting price of slightly less 20,000 euros. In this regard, the management of the French company tried to cooperate with some other major automaker and thus reduce the costs of development and production of the new Twingo.
There were rumors that the “fourth” Twingo would become related to another new model of the smart brand (it is now under the control of the Chinese holding Geely), but they were not confirmed.
Fourth generation Renault Twingo prototype
There were indeed negotiations between Renault and the Volkswagen concern on the joint development of budget electric trains, but they did not lead to anything. Volkswagen eventually announced that it would develop its budget electric car independently and present it in 2027, and Renault chose a certain Chinese partner, whose name has not been disclosed, in order to develop a new Twingo by 2026 — therefore, Renault cannot do this on its own condition. According to unofficial data, the Chinese partner will simplify and reduce the cost of the Renault AmpR Small platform, previously known as the CMF-B EV — this platform underlies the new Renault 5 and the Alpine A290 sports hatchback.
In order to reduce the cost of the new Twingo, the French company could well organize its assembly in China, but these plans, if any, were prevented by the new tariff policy of the European Union: it was decided that “electric trains” assembled in China would be subject to individual duties depending on how much their manufacturers were supported by the Chinese government, which the EU authorities consider unfair competition. The Dacia Spring cross-hatchback, which is currently the cheapest new electric car in Europe, is produced in China and may also be subject to tariffs. In fact, the new Renault Twingo will replace the Dacia Spring, which is also very outdated, despite having recently undergone a comprehensive update.
Prototype of the fourth generation Renault Twingo
Today, the Slovenian news agency STA reported that the Renault Group and the Slovenian government have agreed that the fourth generation Twingo will be produced at the Renault plant in Novo Mesto, for which this plant will be modernized. The volume of investment in modernization has not been disclosed; part of the money for this will probably be provided by the Slovenian government. According to Automotive News Europe, production of the third generation Twingo in Novo Mesto has already been completed, and the plant is now assembling the fifth generation Renault Clio hatchback in one shift. The deal between the Renault Group and the Slovenian government around Twingo will make it possible to retain the entire staff of the plant in Novo Mesto (about 1,400 people), especially since large production volumes are expected — Renault wants to start with 150,000 new Twingos per year, and then it will go from there.
In our opinion, the market potential of the new Renault Twingo as an electric car is very limited, despite the promised affordable price. Competitors like the Fiat Grande Panda and the new Citroen C3 have “hydrocarbon” versions, and the new Fiat 500, originally designed as an electric car, is awaiting reengineering to install an internal combustion engine under the hood. Selling 150,000 new Twingos a year without support for the petrol version will be very difficult.
Свежие комментарии