Details are scarce, but Renault expects the hybrid to return up to 117 mpg in a mixed European cycle. Whether the car will use a gasoline- or diesel-burning engine is not known, but a small electric motor linked to a lithium-ion battery pack will likely be part of the drivetrain.
Expected to be roughly the same size as the popular Clio sub-compact, the yet-unnamed concept is being designed for mass-production so it will be considerably more affordable and less extreme than Volkswagen’s XL1. Renault will not follow the path blazed by BMW and construct its upcoming plug-in hybrid out of carbon fiber because it would add several thousand dollars to the price for a negligible reduction in weight that the automaker says it not beneficial to EVs.
“Reducing weight is important for petrol and diesel cars, but less so for EVs – aerodynamics is more important for efficiency in electric vehicles. Weight can be used to help regenerative braking in an EV to harvest more kinetic energy when slowing down,” explained Remi Bastien, Renault’s head of research, in an interview with English magazine Auto Express.
The news comes as a surprise because Renault has traditionally eschewed hybrid technology in favor of full-electric powerplants. However, the drivetrain will help Renault reach its goal of lowering its fleet-wide CO2 emission rating to less than 80 grams per kilometer by the year 2020.
A second important factor that pushed Renault towards hybrid technology is that the French and Chinese governments offer financial incentives towards the purchase of a new gasoline- or diesel-electric hybrid. Since Renault is one of the only European automakers without a hybrid in its lineup, it risks losing sales to competitors such as Peugeot and Volkswagen because its cars are not eligible for government-issued discounts.
Look for a full set of details about Renault’s hybrid-powered concept to emerge in the weeks leading up to its debut in Switzerland next March.
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