22:17 07-07-2026

Renault's 2030 plan: electric cars at hybrid prices, and the R5 already turns a profit

CEO François Provost says the compact R5, R4 and Twingo already earn better margins than the pricier Megane and Scenic — and Renault wants every EV to cost like a hybrid by 2030.

Renault wants to settle the big argument about electric cars not with range, but with price. The company has set itself a goal: by 2030, sell EVs for the same money as hybrids — without giving up profit. The direction is already set by the Renault 5, Renault 4 and the new Twingo, as these compact models turn out to be more lucrative for the brand than the larger, pricier Megane E-Tech and Scenic E-Tech.

The Renault 5 has become one of the brand's biggest wins in Europe: it currently ranks fourth among the region's best-selling EVs, and by year-end the Douai plant is expected to build more than 200,000 cars. The new Twingo has also come out swinging — in some countries it is already collecting more orders than its bigger sibling, the R5. Prices stay relatively low: the Twingo starts at €18,263 and the R5 at €23,856 before subsidies.

Renault Group boss François Provost told Les Echos that margins on the R5, R4 and Twingo are higher than on the Megane and Scenic, even though the latter sit in a pricier segment. The reasons are simple — lower costs and the sheer appeal of the cars themselves. Selling EVs at hybrid money by 2030, he says, must not come at the cost of losses, or the company won't be able to fund new projects.

To get there, Renault is asking the EU not to scrap the rules but to freeze automotive regulation for 10 years. Provost's logic is straightforward: shift a quarter of the engineers busy adapting cars to new requirements onto cutting costs instead, and prices can drop noticeably. By 2030, EVs could cost as much as hybrids, and hybrids as much as ordinary combustion cars. Renault sees price as the single biggest barrier for buyers.

In parallel, the company is turning its platforms into the backbone of other brands' models. Renault already builds the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross on the Scenic base and the Nissan Micra on the R5 base, and next year Nissan will get a city EV built on the Twingo. From 2028, Renault will assemble a compact electric car and a crossover for Ford on the R5 and R4 architecture. According to Spain's Forococheselectricos, these could be the new Fiesta and Puma.

Unlike Ford and Stellantis, which are opening their European plants to Chinese manufacturers, Renault has no intention of handing its lines to outside Chinese brands. The company insists its factories have no overcapacity problem, and that partners are drawn not by spare production space but by the competitiveness of Renault's own technology.

If Renault really does level the price of EVs and hybrids, the main question stops being “why buy an electric car” and becomes which type of car is cheaper to own overall. For Europe that could be a turning point — and for Renault, a chance to reclaim its role as a maker of affordable, everyman cars.