NO MORE RENAULT PLUGIN HYBRIDS AFTER RAFALE

Flagship is a one-off as "hybrid is easiest way to prepare people for EVs"

- FELIX PAGE

Renault is betting big on full-hybrid powertrains as a means of transitioning its cars and customers to pure-electric power and has no plans to expand its plug-in hybrid offering beyond its flagship Rafale.

Company CEO Fabrice Cambolive told Autocar that the decision to focus on full hybrids - a move that contrasts starkly with heavy recent investment in PHEVS by Audi, Toyota, Stellantis, BMW, Volvo and Volkswagen - is in acknowledgement of their usability and packaging benefits.

"Three or four years ago it was not obvious, choosing between mild hybrid, full hybrid, plugin hybrid or pure-EV," he said. "There were a lot of different ways to manage your engine line-up. What we decided is to bet on full hybrid, because for me that is the easiest way to have low-consumption cars and to prepare our customers to go to EVs."

Renault's sole PHEV (and likely to be its last), the Rafale E-Tech 4x4, is unusual in combining a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with three electric motors - one on each axle and a startergenerator in the gearbox. A 22kWh battery affords 66 miles of electric-only range.