Renault has lifted the curtain on its new Filante crossover with an unmistakable message. The French carmaker is no longer satisfied with its role as a producer of sensible, mid-market vehicles. Instead, it is placing a costly bet on wealthier customers. But its ambition has no place on European roads.
The Filante is Renault’s largest and most lavish production model to date, measuring almost five meters and featuring multiple screens, driver-assist features, and premium trim. It will be built in Busan, South Korea, and sold in Korea, Latin America, and the Gulf states, but not in Europe.
A different picture
That absence is revealing. Renault executives argue that the car is too large and too reliant on hybrid technology for a region where regulations and consumer sentiment are pushing toward more compact, fully electric vehicles.
And as we should add, where established premium brands are too hard to crack. In Europe, the profitability margin for mainstream brands targeting the executive segment is very tight. The Rafale can be regarded as Renault’s most important attempt.
But outside Europe, the French carmaker sees a different picture. Sales beyond the continent rose 11 percent last year to more than 616,000 vehicles, still well below European volumes but increasingly attractive for margins.
Through its longtime partnership with Samsung, which became Renault Korean Motors a few years ago, Renault is well established in South Korea. It is aware that large cars dominate, and vehicle choice remains closely tied to social status.
Competitor to Sorrento
That’s where the Filante enters the strategy. It rides on a platform supplied by Geely, Renault’s Chinese partner, and is assembled in a factory partly owned by Geely. These underpinnings are the CMA architecture, also found in the Koléos and the Volvo XC40.
Rather than Audi or BMW, the Filante directly targets successful models like the Kia Sorento, one of Korea’s best-selling vehicles. Renault hopes the aggressive design, reminiscent of the BMW XM, though generous rear legroom, and a technology-heavy cabin will persuade buyers to look beyond domestic brands.
Inside, the Filante leans heavily into spectacle. Three large screens span the dashboard, a digital mirror replaces the conventional rearview mirror, and passengers can play an augmented-reality driving game using a live camera feed. These touches are meant to signal modernity and exclusivity, though you might question how much they matter once novelty fades.
No plug-in technology
The Filante isn’t a fully electric model but uses a clever hybrid system that mates a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, producing 150 hp, to an electric motor of 97 hp. At low and medium speeds, the car can drive entirely emission-free. Under hard acceleration and heavy loads, the combustion engine kicks in.
Even without plug-in functionality, the system can reduce consumption by up to 50% compared to a non-assisted combustion engine. This driveline is also developed in collaboration with Geely, which co-owns Renault’s combustion-engine development and production department, Horse.
Speed records
The Filante also underscores how Renault is recalibrating its image to align with different global markets. At home, the brand talks about affordability, efficiency, and restraint. In Asia, it doesn’t shy away from size and status. However, while the car itself will never cross the border, people close to the project admit that the lessons learned in Korea will feed back into European models.
The latter applies to trials with new software and over-the-air updates. If you’re wondering where the name comes from, the Etoile Filante was a prototype from the fifties featuring an aviation engine that set speed records. It was revived as a one-off demo car last year.
