The original Renault Twingo radically transformed the A segment with its bold new vision of the city car. Cheerful, colourful and modular, Twingo invited customers to “invent the life to go with it”. At that time, the market offered a wide range of city cars, with more arriving every year. Today, this segment accounts for less than 5% of the European market.
Contrary to popular belief, the current size of the A segment is not a reflection of low demand: motorists across Europe are still looking for compact, affordable vehicles, designed for urban living or for use as a second car. The problem lies in the size of the offering. Faced with the difficulty of reconciling competitive edge, compliance with standards, and modern customer expectations, most manufacturers have simply pulled out of this segment.
Building on its history and expertise in small cars, Renault decided to take up this challenge, and to view it as a major growth opportunity. As a result, new-generation Twingo is a true game changer. It is part of a sweeping transformation, both internally – with the rigour and passion of our workforce, the accelerated pace of development and our competitive production base in Europe – and at market level, where it is redefining the standards of the A segment, as a modern electric city car delivering high customer value at an affordable price.
Bringing the spirit of Twingo to life involved taking the DNA of the original and giving it a unique, contemporary feel. A vehicle of iconic and instantly recognisable design, Twingo E-Tech electric is also exceptionally spacious and modular, with five doors, two independent sliding rear seats standard on all versions, and more.
Built for silent driving with zero tailpipe emissions and cutting-edge technology, Twingo E-Tech electric features driving aids usually found further up the market, and is available with the OpenR Link multimedia system with Google built-in – a first in this segment.
The aim is to make electric cars easier to drive and encourage more people to make the switch. The ideally sized LFP battery (up to 163 miles WLTP range) is combined with a lively, lightweight 60 kW motor. Twingo E-Tech electric is perfect for driving in and around cities, where the One Pedal function makes light work of day-to-day traffic jams. Finally, competitive pricing remains a priority: Twingo E-Tech electric will launch at under £20,000. Even the top-spec versions will sell for an attractive price.
Even more practical and convenient than before, Twingo E-Tech electric sets new standards for the A segment, while remaining true to the pioneering spirit of Renault and the original Twingo. It meets the expectations of customers across Europe in full, while also bringing an optimistic vibe to the city.
Built at the Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia, Twingo E-Tech electric will launch in 2027.
Two years to reinvent an icon: an adventure unique in Renault’s history
Developed as part of an innovative and unique international organisation, Twingo E-Tech electric expresses the ambition of Renault to bring electric vehicles into the mainstream and make them widely affordable.
Twingo E-Tech electric was designed to meet three major objectives:
- Making e-mobility affordable and more sustainable: with an entry-level price of less than £20,000 (excluding subsidies), Twingo E-Tech electric is an affordable and more sustainable solution for European households.
- Cutting vehicle development times to two years: a first in Renault’s history, this achievement was part of a pilot project providing input for future projects within the company.
- Maintaining a competitive production base in Europe: assembled in Novo Mesto (Slovenia), Twingo E-Tech electric is able to rely on an optimised industrial organisation and a local supply chain.
Cutting vehicle development times to two years
Twingo E-Tech electric is the first vehicle in the “Leap 100” programme (“100” for one hundred weeks), whose purpose is to transform the entire vehicle development cycle. Twingo E-Tech electric was developed faster than any other model in Renault’s history. Designed and built in just one hundred weeks – twice as fast as previous electric models – while complying with the most recent Group quality standards. Twingo E-Tech electric illustrates Renault’s capacity to keep pace with a fast-changing market.
To achieve this objective, Renault set up a unique organisation, combining know-how in Europe and innovation in China. Based on three pillars – Ampere, ACDC and the Novo Mesto assembly plant – this organisation paves the way for a new generation of vehicles based on a faster, simpler and more efficient design process.
Ampere, the Renault Group subsidiary specialising in intelligent electric vehicles, led the project through its three key stages in France, China, and Slovenia.
The design of the Twingo E-Tech electric was launched in France, at the Technocentre, drawing on the Group’s technological strengths and using the AmpR Small platform, specially designed for A- and B- segment electric vehicles with state-of-the-art electronic architecture. For this project, Ampere introduced a streamlined governance structure focusing on efficiency and rapid decision-making. This approach made it possible to clear milestones more quickly, reduce back-and-forth between business lines and ensure complete integration with Renault’s electric strategy.
The second phase was carried out with ACDC, the Renault Group R&D centre based in Shanghai. This entity accelerated the project by working with the local ecosystem and new industrial partners. This close interaction facilitated the smooth transfer of best practices. Around one hundred people contributed to the various phases of the project, with the support of key suppliers including Launch Design for the upper, visible part of the vehicle, CATL for the batteries and Shanghai e-drive for the powertrain. Ampere provided the platform and developed all the electronic systems, software, multimedia and driving aids. This joint effort cut the usual design timescales and made it possible to optimise costs without compromising on quality.
Further, Twingo E-Tech electric is built at a Renault Group plant in Europe, guaranteeing quality and reliability. With this new approach, Renault has made the transition from conventional, linear development to a collaborative, cross-functional process, bringing together all the key functions in the same team. This approach has allowed us to cut lead times at every step. Renault has shaved a full year off the design time for a comparable vehicle, while reducing the investments required by half.
By implementing this approach for Twingo E-Tech electric, Ampere was already able to meet the goals of the “Leap 100” programme, showing that this is not a one-off exercise in optimisation, but a new, more sustainable and reproducible way of working. More specifically, the timescale is cut by 16% for upstream activities such as planning, 41% for development, including design and technology, and 26% for industrialisation, including the deployment of production tools and logistics.
Modern proportions
To anchor Twingo E-Tech electric in its time, the designers also played with the vehicle’s proportions. While its length is compact at 3.79 metres, the wheelbase has been extended to 2.49 metres. This allowed the wheels —now enlarged to a diameter of 640 mm and suitable for tyres of up to 18 inches in size— to be pushed out to the four corners of the body. All this gives the car a bigger personality and stronger presence on the street.
A joyful look
Arched daytime running lights give Twingo E-Tech electric a cheerful expressive look, underlining its friendly personality, and adding a contemporary touch with the full LED technology. Inside these arches, a body-coloured insert repeats the shade of the bodywork, just above the headlamps, whose black surround gives them an even more up-to-date look. Like the rear lights, which adopt the same half-moon shape and full LED technology, these lights remain on at all times – even when the headlights are off – making the car instantly recognisable.
A smile at the front
Here too, in a direct nod to the first-generation Twingo, the grille forms a subtle smile, while displaying the name of the car at the corner. The soft yet assertive lines of the bumper give Twingo E-Tech electric a confident urban stance. The lower section features discreet air intakes, sculpted not only to fulfil their function but also to streamline the overall flow.
The lower bumper grille features an oblong pattern that is repeated on the front and rear bumper guards, as well as on a number of interior features and on the wheels.
A recognisable rear end
The rear end of Twingo E-Tech electric is being reinvented with a more modern look but is still recognisable, with gentle, playful lines and a signature badge revisiting the iconic “Twingo alphabet” in contemporary and cheeky style. The contours of the rear window and small fins above the black arch of the lights add personality to the rear end, while optimising aerodynamics. Within the arch-shaped rear lights, a black strip conceal the brake lights, indicators, reversing light (right) and fog light (left).
A dual screen and new interface
A dual horizontal OpenR screen gives the interior of Twingo E-Tech electric a contemporary look. All versions feature the same configuration: a 7-inch digital instrument panel facing the driver for driving information and a 10-inch central multimedia screen.
These screens are not just functional: they bring the cabin to life with playful graphics and animations specially developed for Twingo, turning every interaction into a moment of pleasure. The fun starts with a welcome jingle when you step on board. Playing to an original soundtrack developed in collaboration with Jean-Michel Jarre, both screens invite you into a bubble of optimism.
Practicality in everyday life
Although Twingo E-Tech electric is an A-segment vehicle in terms of its dimensions, footprint and agility, it offers the interior space of a B-segment vehicle. Modular and practical with its storage compartments and ingenious accessories – some inherited from the original Twingo – it is ideal for making life easier in the urban jungle.
Small on the outside but big on the inside
Just 3.79 metres long, Twingo E-Tech electric is ideal for driving and parking in the city. With a turning circle of just 9.87 metres, it is also an agile vehicle, making light work of U-turns and other urban manoeuvres.
Inside, however, it has the dimensions of a car from the next segment up, particularly at the rear where passengers gain knee room of up to 160 mm. It also sets the standard in its class with shoulder width of 1,305 mm and boot capacity of up to 360 litres (305 dm3 VDA).
A tried and tested platform
Twingo E-Tech electric is based on the AmpR Small platform, recognised for its agility and performance. For this project, it has been adapted for urban use and also to optimise costs. The front axle is identical to Renault 5 and Renault 4 E-Tech electric, while the multi-link rear axle is replaced by a flexible axle based on the set-up of Captur.
The most appropriate motor/battery combination
Twingo E-Tech electric is powered by a compact, lightweight 60 kW (82 hp) electric motor. A lightweight city car (1,200 kg in the Evolution version) does not require anything bigger or more powerful: it is able to accelerate from 0-50 km/h in just 3.85 seconds.
Optimised for efficiency, the motor is supported by fine-tuned aerodynamics: a CdA of 0.656, underfloor fairing, fins on the rear lights, etc. This enabled an optimised usable battery capacity of 27.5 kWh with a range of up to 163 miles based on the WLTP standard. As a result, Twingo E-Tech electric is ideally suited to its potential customer base (22 miles per day on average).
This 27.5 kWh battery uses LFP (lithium iron phosphate) technology. Despite a lower energy density than NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) technology, LFP offers an ideal cost/range ratio for a city car. Cell-to-pack technology made it possible to optimise energy density in relation to the size and weight of the battery, to avoid compromising efficiency and also to reduce battery costs by 20%.
These factors all play a key role in our ability to develop a car that is both affordable to buy and economical to run, able to replace an ICE vehicle in the same class.
Optimised charging for the home
A city car such as Twingo E-Tech electric is usually charged at home overnight, or at work during the day. Neither case requires excessive charging power, particularly in view of battery capacity (27.5 kWh usable).
For this reason, all versions of Twingo E-Tech electric ship with a 6.6 kW AC charger as standard. Accompanied by a 5-metre Mode 3 cable, ideal for wallbox outlets, it charges the battery from 10% to 100% in just 4 hours 15 minutes.
V2L and V2G: the advantages of bidirectional charging
As standard, Twingo E-Tech electric features an 11 kW AC bidirectional charger. This includes the V2L function (vehicle-to-load) for connecting a 220V appliance to the vehicle battery with up to 3,700W of power using a power-to-object adapter.
The Mobilize Power V2G service launched in France in October 2024. Operation requires a charging point that is also bidirectional. The Mobilize PowerBox Verso charging point delivers up to 22 kW of alternating current (AC). Communicating with Twingo E-Tech electric and the cloud, it charges the battery or feeds electricity back to the grid, depending on battery charge requirements, domestic needs and incentives from the energy market and public grid. Part of the customer journey, the Mobilize PowerBox Verso charging point is marketed and financed alongside Twingo E-Tech electric at dealerships, with the support of Mobilize Power Solutions, which will also install it.
A further preliminary requirement is a specific electricity contract marketed by Mobilize. Based on a technological partnership with The Mobility House, this contract provides a guarantee of green energy, while allowing users to monetise the energy fed back into the grid through automated control of the bidirectional charge. The tariff for this electricity is as competitive as the reference market price, with customers receiving payment for the electricity sold.
My Renault: an app to manage everything
A smartphone app – My Renault – makes it easy to remotely manage and control all the functions associated with bidirectional charging, seeking once again to optimise costs and maintain the right level of mobility. Users simply specify the next departure time and the required battery charge level. While the vehicle is connected, it will never fall below the minimum safety threshold set by the user.
Range and equipment
Renault Twingo E-Tech electric ships in a simplified range with two trim levels and a particularly generous range of equipment from the entry level.
Evolution
16-inch wheel covers, 7” driver screen, 10” central screen with smartphone replication and a connected multimedia system, cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, advanced driver monitoring system, automatic parking brake, individually sliding rear seats, height-adjustable driver seat, manual climate control, rear parking sensors, mode 3 charging cable.
Techno
Two-tone 16-inch wheel covers, OpenR Link multimedia system with Google built-in (Google Maps, Google Assistant and Google Play), Reno avatar, adaptive cruise control with the Stop & Go function, automatic climate control, One Pedal driving, tinted lateral rear windows, power folding door mirrors, folding front passenger seat, hands-free card, digital rear view camera, automatic high beam, automatic windscreen wipers, six speakers.
