Renault is writing a new chapter in its history with the Scenic Vision, an innovative concept car that brings the brand’s vision for a greener, safer and more inclusive future to life.
The Scenic Vision embodies the brand’s sustainable development commitments and encapsulates them in a single vehicle. Its intelligent design and manufacture incorporate methods that the Renault Group and its brands will use to achieve carbon neutrality in Europe by 2040 and worldwide by 2050. Notably, this includes Renault aiming for an entirely electric range by 2030.
Outside, the Scenic Vision showcases Renault’s future all-electric family cars. Inside, it invites travellers into a new time, a future where technology and innovation will make the world more sustainable and more environmentally-friendly.
The Scenic Vision concept car brings the most futuristic decarbonisation technologies to life today, and it embodies the three pillars of Renault Group’s sustainable development strategy: carbon neutrality, safety and inclusion.
For example, 70 per cent of its materials are recycled and 95 per cent are recyclable – contributing directly to resource preservation. As a hybrid, utilising both electric and hydrogen power, it requires fewer and shorter stops. Its carbon footprint, including the battery, is much smaller, being 75 per cent lower than that of a conventional electric car and being a zero-emission car (in production and in use).
The technology in the car enhances driver and passenger safety by reducing the number of accidents by up to 70 per cent. The design of the Renault Scenic Vision also mirrors the development teams’ intention to create a car that is unique, accessible to all and right for everyone.
The Renault Scenic Vision concept car is powered by a one-of-a-kind hybrid – electric and hydrogen – propulsion system. It has a new-generation motor, a smaller battery and a fuel cell running on green hydrogen. It is ushering mobility into a completely new age, which the Group believes is viable for the coming decade.
Renault Scenic Vision’s 160 kW electrically excited synchronous motor derives directly from the All-New Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric’s motor and is made at the plant in Cléon. It uses no rare-earth elements, which helps to reduce its carbon footprint and create a responsible and sustainable ecosystem. The 40 kWh battery is recyclable and will be made in France by 2024 at the Renault ElectriCity Gigafactory. It is lighter, smaller and costs less than a battery for a similar electric vehicle. It also has a 15 kW fuel cell to recharge it during long drives and thus extend its range. In 2030 and beyond, once the network of hydrogen stations is large enough, it will be possible to drive up to 800 km, with the hyrdrogen tank able to be refilled in five minutes or less.
Hybrid electric and hydrogen technology complements the all-electric range, with the advantage of shorter stops and a smaller carbon footprint, making it perfect for long journeys. And, as it runs on green hydrogen, the car is a perfect fit for Renault Group’s objectives for decarbonised mobility.
A singular and specific platform to include hydrogen
Renault Scenic Vision has an all-new platform that is currently in the prototyping phase at Renault Group’s innovation labs. The platform is purpose-designed to fit all the components: the electric motor, hydrogen engine, battery, fuel cell and hydrogen tank. The engine is at the rear, so there is enough space for the 2.5 kg hydrogen tank at the front; the fuel cell is under the floor, at the back of the platform, behind the battery.
Optimal travel times
This propulsion system’s operation is simple and efficient. The car can be driven as a conventional electric vehicle, without using the fuel cell, on daily trips. When there is a requirement to travel longer distances, a route planner calculates the power the fuel cell needs to supply to keep the battery charged for longer, so that there is no need to charge it on the way. The point of using the fuel cell on long journeys is that it’s quicker to top up the hydrogen tank than to charge the battery. This way, there is no need to charge the battery until the car reaches its destination. When the weather is cold, the hydrogen range-extender also keeps the battery at the right temperate for optimal operation and extra range.
Unrestricted driving
Renault Scenic Vision’s hybrid electric and hydrogen powertrain has all the advantages of electric motors: instant acceleration, less noise and no vibration. And no pollution, because the car discharges nothing but water when you use it. There are several advantages to this platform and this new kind of propulsion system: you can drive long distances only stopping briefly to fill the hydrogen tank (roughly every three hours) and they provide an appealing alternative to all-electric motors – even though they are still in the exploratory phase.
Equipment For All
The Renault Scenic Vision has been designed with the ultimate ambition of creating a car adapted to all, where accessibility, comfort, and safety are its guiding principles.
The suicide doors without a B-pillar make it easier to get in and out of the vehicle. There is no door lip to climb over, and lateral supports for the seats have been relocated to the inner door panel, thereby giving even more room to climb aboard.
The Renault Scenic Vision’s ‘responsive’ cockpit guarantees optimal comfort by adjusting to the driver’s morphology: it moves forward at the same time as the driver’s seat to give passengers and the driver plenty of room to move about.
The cockpit’s technological features are readily visible and each part interchangeable. This means that regular upgrades can be made over the course of the car’s life, without having to change car.
A facial recognition device located on the outside of the vehicle, near where the two doors meet, is used to unlock the car and automatically adapt the interior configuration (seat position, widget and app preferences, playlists etc) to the person it recognises, making for a truly tailored driving experience.
Ten configurable screens are located throughout the interior of the Renault Scenic Vision. They are dedicated to different functions and are found in specific places of the vehicle.
A camera located in the front detects where people are looking and turns the screens to face the person seeking to interact with the system, meaning greater ergonomics and accessibility.
A high-tech exterior design
Measuring 4.49 meters in length (1.9 m wide and 1.59 m high), the Renault Scenic Vision is a family car whose dimensions are that of a C-segment vehicle. Its features contribute to an overall futuristic design with plenty of character and a sustainable underbelly.
The vehicle boasts all the advantages of a family car: extended wheelbase, low belt line, large wheels, side and wheel-arch protective strips, and a horizontally aligned bonnet. Its proportions are ideal for optimised interior space.
The highly detailed front end of the Scenic Vision concept car features sculpted surfaces that converge in a dynamic flow of clearly visible lines; it is enhanced by a spectacular welcome sequence during which the front bonnet gives way to a flash diamond-shape animation that comes alive on the grille before rising up around Renault’s new ‘Nouvel’R’ logo.
Close attention to detail can be seen in the rims, bumper air intakes, front grille components, and more; everything has been done to showcase the car’s HD design. The logo is also part of the highly graphic style: each of its lines can be broken into fifths.
The headlights and day lamps feature the same stylistic lines as the logo, thereby further underpinning the feeling of unity with the front end’s design.
All it takes to open the doors is a simple touch of the tactile Renault logo located on the replacement B-Pillar, with the suicide doors and non-existent B-Pillar allowing easy access.
Fitted with large 21-inch wheels, the rims on the Renault Scenic Vision are equipped with flaps for enhanced aerodynamic performance, and therefore greater efficiency. When the car is in motion (≥ 10km/h), the flaps close to improve their aerodynamics; as soon as the car slows down and its speed drops below 10km/h, the flaps open for better cooling as the heat generated by the brakes can escape more readily. A specific mechanism keeps the logos positioned on the wheels in an upright position when the Scenic Vision is in motion.
Inclusive and ergonomic interior design
The interior of the Renault Scenic Vision interior adapts to each person on board; a truly visionary philosophy.
As such, when climbing aboard, the cockpit and seats move back, so as to give passengers and the driver maximum room to move around in. They then move back to a more suitable position by adapting to the morphology of each user. The seats have been designed to suit their primary function. The wrap-around driver’s seat is sportier than the others, making it easier to stay focused on the road when driving; whereas passengers benefit from seats designed to be more comfortable.
The steering wheel is in the shape of a game controller, underscoring the interior’s modern ‘tech’ feel. The vehicle’s large glass roof lets in light, inviting passengers to let their minds wander, and merging with the other glass panels to give a heightened sense of space and luminosity. This is enhanced by the choice of light-coloured, reflective materials.
With the ‘Cocoon’ airbags now located in the seats, the dashboard is thinner and sleeker. The Renault Scenic Vision comes equipped with a very large screen located where the windshield meets the dashboard, as close as to the horizon line as possible. The goal is to give the driver the best possible view. Its position maximizes ergonomics and safety by preventing the driver from taking their eyes off the road as they look for information which is displayed in two distinct areas: one for the driver, one for the passenger.
In addition to the main screen, the interior also features 10 small widget screens, that are readily adaptable, intuitive and configurable, and which control functions spanning everything from music to temperature settings and settings for the automatic gearbox to interior lighting. Content from the widgets can be transferred to the large screen on the dashboard.
A final addition to the Renault Scenic Vision’s on-board equipment is the HEPA filter which helps purify the air inside the car, thus enhancing the well-being and health of passengers.
