.jpg "Chinese know-how to help Europe make a sub-$30,000 electric car: 2026 Renault Twingo to be a cheap EV to rival BYD Seagull and VW ID.1- report")
Chinese know-how to help Europe make a sub-$30,000 electric car: 2026 Renault Twingo to be a cheap EV to rival BYD Seagull and VW ID.1- report
Renault was expected to partner with Volkswagen to reboot its Twingo nameplate in the electric era, twinned with the German brand’s ID.1, the electric Up! replacement.
Plans fell through last week, however, and now the French carmaker is looking to China for assistance in developing a sub-€20,000 (A$32,615) electric car, reports Automotive News Europe.
"The development of the car will be done with a Chinese partner to improve our development lead time and costs," a Renault spokesperson told the industry news source.
The design, advanced engineering and eventual production will all occur in Europe, if not France, with the brand’s Ampere electric car division taking the lead.
Renault Group CEO Luca De Meo had previously promised Twingo production at Renault’s Lyon factory with locally sourced batteries, however the report indicates the new electric city car might be built in the same Slovenia plant as the current model.
When the Twingo was announced it was said that Renault would take it from ‘concept freeze’ to production in two years mirroring Chinese carmakers’ capabilities.
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