Renault will no longer develop new Diesel engines

“We are no longer developing new Diesel engines.” That is according to Gilles Le Borgne, Renault’s head of engineering, in an interview with French publication Auto-Infos, on the sidelines of the French manufacturer’s eWays event.

At that event, we were introduced to the Renault Mégane eVision, an electric hatchback with crossover genes, due to arrive on the market at the end of next year. Gilles Le Borgne outlined what to expect from this model and, above all, from the CMF-EV, the new modular platform developed exclusively for electric vehicles that will underpin it.

Renault CMF-EV platform and the Mégane eVision

Modular and adaptable, the CMF-EV will be offered in two versions, short and long, with wheelbases ranging from 2.69 m to 2.77 m. According to Le Borgne, it will support 40 kWh, 60 kWh and 87 kWh battery packs. The Mégane eVision uses the shorter CMF-EV version together with the 60 kWh battery, delivering a range of up to 450 km - a figure also helped by its carefully honed aerodynamics, Le Borgne points out.

Its role will not be limited to the new Mégane eVision. Much like the Volkswagen Group’s MEB architecture, CMF-EV will form the basis of a new generation of electric vehicles for Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance partners. The Nissan Ariya will be the first model to benefit from this new platform.

New Diesel engines at Renault? Do not count on it

The CMF-EV provided the starting point for a broader discussion about the rapid electrification of the car - driven more by regulation than by market demand - and what this will mean for the future of Renault combustion engines.

Gilles Le Borgne succinctly set out what lies ahead. The transition will be gradual, and he forecasts that electric vehicles will account for 15% of European sales in 2025; this figure includes plug-in hybrids, which enable electric mobility. By 2030, that share is expected to reach 30%.

As he notes, given the forthcoming regulations designed to cut CO₂ emissions, every vehicle still fitted with an internal-combustion engine after 2025 will be electrified or hybridised in one way or another.

It is in this context that he announced Renault is no longer developing new Diesel engines. If hybridisation is the objective, petrol engines make greater sense, at least from an economic perspective. We recently reported on a new 1.2 TCe three-cylinder petrol engine being developed by Renault specifically to power the brand’s future hybrid models.

That does not mean Diesel engines will disappear from Renault’s catalogue immediately. Le Borgne says they will remain in the Renault range for a few more years, although not for many more.

Diesel exodus

As reported by another French publication, L’Automobile Magazine, the introduction of the Euro6D standard in January 2021 is likely to prompt an initial wave of Diesel-powered models leaving the market. Meeting Euro6D requirements could demand costly modifications to existing engines, an investment that is difficult to justify when factors such as falling sales volumes and additional manufacturing costs are taken into account.

In other instances, the early withdrawal of Diesel engines may form part of a wider strategy to “redirect” customers towards the new hybrid and electric models being launched by various manufacturers. Such vehicles are essential for meeting CO₂ emissions-reduction targets and avoiding the substantial fines that have been planned.

According to L’Automobile Magazine, several Renault models will drop Diesel engines as early as 2021. They include the Captur and the new Arkana, both of which already offer plug-in hybrid powertrains in their ranges.

Sources: Auto-Info, L’Automobile.