We are at a crucial moment. The automobile industry faces numerous challenges in the coming years. The change in the way we move will focus all attention when it comes to renewing products such as the Renault Clio. The leaders of the brand have hesitated a lot in recent times, although it seems that they have already made a firm decision. The Renault Clio will add a new generation, the sixth, in 2026. Good news that reveals the many doubts that exist within the offices of senior managers.
In recent years Renault has not had anything clear about the renewal of the Clio. The best seller is one of the fundamental pillars of the company, but the future is marked by electric mobility. The doubt that weighed on the head of Luca de Meo, head of the brand, It was whether to keep the Clio or make the generational jump to the R5, which we already know will arrive in 2024 with a retro style and a 100% electric format. Doubts have been on the table for months, but it seems that a decision has already been made.
There will be a new Clio, the sixth, and it will be presented in 2026. The current generation still has a few years of work left, although in the middle of next year we should attend a restyling of the fifth edition, including the renewal of its hybrid version E-TECH. One year later, in 2024, the Renault 5 will make an appearance with its powerful image and electric mobility. Everyone expected it to be the prelude to the end of the Clio, but it’s not going to be like that. The ideal conditions to make the change from thermal to electric are not taking place.
The current economic, political and industrial situation does not bode well for the coming years. Conflicts and supply problems have shown that the world, at least for now, is not ready for a rapid transition to electric. Europe wants to make a change that is too rapid for the current situation. Supply problems, rising prices of materials and lack of infrastructure are the three main problems to be solved in the coming years, and we are not talking about a short period of time.
Inflation has triggered the costs of raw materials and at Renault they are aware that if they put on sale an electric utility vehicle with an unaffordable price, their potential customers will go to the competition. Luca de Meo is aware that the R5 will not have the same sales volume as the Clio, and in the absence of being able to present a utility vehicle to society for less than 20,000 euros, he has chosen to keep one of the pillars of his company alive. A question that many brands face in the coming years.
The first information, collected by the French media, L’Argus, point to a fairly smooth renovation of the current Clio. It is intended to use the same platform, although the design, technology and mechanical range will be changed. The thermal and hybrid mechanics will be preserved, producing important changes in the latter. The hybrid Clio E-TECH will have a 1.8-liter gasoline engine with axial-flow electric mechanics developed by Whylot. It will offer more performance and less consumption for a similar price.
