Renault 5 Electric is ready to order

Renault is opening the order books for the first two Renault 5 E-Tech electric versions. The Techno version is available for €32,900, while the Iconic Cinq version costs €2,000 more. The €25,000 base model Five with a smaller battery will follow in early 2025. In 2024, the €5,000 premium for individual buyers is still available in Flanders.

Since its presentation at the Geneva Motor Show at the end of February, all the data on the Renault 5 E-Tech Electric have been known, except for the price, which the French carmaker has revealed. The compact electric model is based on design elements of the historic R5 and will shake up the small electric car segment from autumn 2024.

Two of five trim levels will be sold initially, starting from €32,900. Both versions – the Techno and the Iconic Five – have the larger 52 kWh battery and the 110 kW electromotor.

The basic version Five, with the smaller 40 kWh battery, will follow next year. It’s unclear whether it will also have a less powerful motor version. According to Renault, it will sell for 25,000 euros, making it the ‘25,000-euro electric car’ the French company had promised in advance.

The other two equipment levels will also follow in 2025, completing the quintet of Five, Evolution, Techno, Iconic Cinq, and Roland-Garros (a special series).

Two batteries, three motor versions

In addition to the two battery sizes already mentioned, customers can choose between three different drive systems. The 52 kWh battery (net) will only be available at market launch with the most powerful version, 110 kW. Later, 90 and 70 kW electromotors will follow.

Both batteries contain prismatic NMC cells from Renault’s battery partner, AESC. According to Renault, the vehicles and the batteries (from 2025) will be manufactured in northern France.

The French company specifies a range of 410 or 300 kilometers, depending on the battery size. The version with the largest battery is already WLTP certified; the smaller version is still being approved. Renault talks about a 300 km ‘city range’ here, which should lead to a 250-270 km range that is WLTP-approved.

The manufacturer sets the top speed for the launch models at 150 kph and acceleration from 0 to 100 kph in less than eight seconds. All electric R5s have an 11 kW AC onboard charger as standard. DC charging is possible with up to 100 kW.

The time window for fast charging is around 30 minutes from 15 to 80% charge level. At AC stations, the charging process will take 4.5 or 3.5 hours, depending on the battery size.

V2G

The two higher motorizations should each have a bidirectional AC charger on board and – as announced by Renault in mid-2023 – be the company’s first vehicles capable of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) communication, i.e., feeding electricity back into the grid.

While the feature will be introduced in France and Spain, for example, vehicles in Germany and other countries are initially only capable of the already widespread V2L, which charges external devices with a maximum of 3.7 kW.

The Germans seem very upset as Renault does not explain why the V2G function will not initially be offered in Germany. The system is being implemented in Europe with technology partner The Mobility House.

Indeed, the vast number of grid operators in Germany causes the delay. There are more than 900 electricity grid operators in Germany. In other countries, the number of grid operators is in the single digits. And, of course, the grid has to be ready for V2G: in Belgium, this will be the case in… 2026. Renault doesn’t specify if vehicles bought now can be updated for V2G later.

R5 R Pass

Renault is giving holders of the ‘R5 R-Pass’ a ten-day slot for their order starting today. This pass was available in advance for 150 euros. They are contacted by the dealer of their choice, where they reserve the R-Pass. When ordered, they will be the first to get their new R5 E-tech Electric.

Customers can choose from five colors: eye-catching green and yellow or the more subdued midnight blue, white, and black pearl. In addition, 104 accessories are available, like personalizing sets for the roof or the doors or a special basket to transport the breakfast ‘baguette’.

The two readily available versions are equipped with a heat pump, an 11 kW AC charger, automatic air conditioning, 18-inch wheels, a reverse camera, adaptive speed control, a 10-inch digital driver’s display, and a 10.1-inch central monitor for the OpenR Link multimedia system with integrated Google. The latter includes a route planner specially designed for electric vehicles.

€27,500 in Flanders in 2024

In Flanders, the R5 E-Tech Electric is eligible for the €5,000 premium, reducing the price of the car purchased in 2024 to €27,500 for the Techno version with a 52 kW battery pack and 110 kW motor.