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Renault to develop electric SUV – Could be the size of Duster, rival Hyundai Kona

With the preview of Renault K-ZE A-segment (Kwid) electric crossover concept, the French automaker has announced its intentions to expand its zero emission vehicle portfolio. As of now, the Zoe B-segment hatchback is the only brisk selling EV product from Renault and that is set to change in the coming years.

Autocar reports that, in addition to the production version of the Kwid-based K-ZE concept, Renault would also be developing a more upmarket electric crossover SUV. Speaking to the publication, Renault’s electric division head Gilles Normand confirmed that a zero-emission vehicle in the C-Segment is crucial for the European markets.

Currently, Renault’s top C-segment contender is the Megane hatchback but the electric vehicle in question is not likely to be an electrified version of Megane. Normand hinted that looking at an SUV would be a good direction to move forward since SUVs are currently in the vogue across the world.

Such a C-Segment crossover SUV would be compact enough to appeal to urban dwellers while being spacious enough to offer comfort for the whole family. We would be looking at something in the size bracket of Renault Kadjar. The upcoming product is expected to be underpinned by a new platform called CMF-EV. The architecture would be shared with future Nissan and Mitsubishi models.

The Renault electric SUV project is still in planning stages and hence it’s too early to talk about specifications. However, Normand acknowledged that an acceptable electric vehicle range for this segment is around 500 km (310 miles). The company is currently working on EV technology to achieve this range and it is expecting to reach this target by 2022.

The production version of the K-ZE which is essentially the Kwid electric would be launched sometime by 2020 with China as the first market. The C-Segment Renault SUV is expected to go on sale in Europe around two years later.

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