TWINGO RETURNS AS AN EFFICIENT, AFFORDABLE EV

Renault reveals sub-£20k compact electric city car with 163-mile range

- CHARLIE MARTIN

Renault is hoping to revive the city car class with the new electric Twingo, which has been unveiled in production-ready form. Twingo programme director Olivier Laik said: “Over the past 10 years, sales of A-segment cars have decreased significantly, from more than one million units per year to less than 600,000. With the increasing number of regulations, the price of these vehicles kept increasing significantly — so as a household's second vehicle, there are fewer sales, and some customers just upgraded to B-segment vehicles for a little more space while paying little more. Those customers are still here, but the offer today is not appropriate.” To that end, the Twingo’s key directive was not just to be cheaper than the Renault 5 EV but also to compete with the few combustion-engined city cars that remain on sale, such as the Kia Picanto, to convince buyers to switch to an electric vehicle. Renault said the Twingo will land in UK showrooms at a price point below £20,000, making it one of the UK's cheapest EVs. It will face an array of competitors, including the BYD Dolphin Surf and the incoming Volkswagen ID 1, which is due in 2027. The bulk of the Twingo’s cost savings are thanks to its battery, which is supplie