Renault to halve engine families by 2025

Renault’s Renaulution plan, unveiled at the start of the year, is intended to shift the French group’s strategy towards profitability rather than market share or absolute sales volume.

Improving profitability requires, among other actions, lower costs. To achieve this, Renault intends both to shorten product development time from four years to three and to reduce technical variety, making greater use of economies of scale.

Accordingly, as well as aiming for 80% of its models to be based on three platforms - CMF-B, CMF-C and CMF-EV - from 2025, Renault also plans to streamline its engine line-up.

A drastic reduction

For that reason, it is preparing to make a drastic “cut” in the number of engine families it offers. At present, across diesel, petrol, hybrid and electric powertrains, the French brand has eight engine families:

• electric;
• hybrid - the 1.6-litre E-Tech;
• three petrol families - SCe and TCe units with 1.0, 1.3 and 1.8 litres;
• three diesel families - 1.5, 1.7 and 2.0-litre Blue dCi engines.

From 2025, Renault will halve its number of powertrain families, reducing them from eight to just four:

• two electric families - battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell;
• one modular petrol family - 1.2-litre three-cylinder and 1.5-litre four-cylinder units, available in mild-hybrid, hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions;
• one diesel family - the 2.0 Blue dCi.

Diesel remains, but...

As previously reported, Renault is no longer developing new diesel engines. As a result, only one diesel unit will remain in the French manufacturer’s combustion-engine portfolio: the 2.0 Blue dCi. Its use will ultimately be restricted to commercial vehicles. Even then, its adoption is not guaranteed, as it will depend on the targets introduced under the forthcoming Euro 7 standard.

The 1.5 dCi currently on sale still has a few years left, but its fate has already been decided.

What about petrol?

Petrol engines, Renault’s final combustion-engine “bastion”, will also undergo far-reaching changes. The current three families will therefore become a single family.

According to Gilles Le Borgne, the French brand’s director of research and development, this modular powertrain will be offered in three- or four-cylinder forms, with 1.2-litre and 1.5-litre capacities respectively, and in several power outputs.

Both versions can be paired with different degrees of electrification - mild-hybrid, conventional hybrid and plug-in hybrid. The first, the 1.2-litre three-cylinder HR12DV, is due to arrive in 2022 with the launch of the new Renault Kadjar. The second version will be a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, codenamed HR15, replacing the current 1.3 TCe.

In other words, by roughly the middle of the new decade, Renault’s petrol-engine range will be arranged as follows:

• 1.2 TCe
• 1.2 TCe 48V mild-hybrid
• 1.2 TCe E-Tech (conventional hybrid)
• 1.2 TCe E-Tech PHEV
• 1.5 TCe 48V mild-hybrid
• 1.5 TCe E-Tech (conventional hybrid)
• 1.5 TCe E-Tech PHEV

100% French Renault electric motors

In total, Renault’s new powertrain range will include two electric motors, both manufactured in France. The first, developed by Nissan, also follows a modular design and is expected to debut in the new Nissan Ariya. The first Renault to receive it will be the production version of the Mégane eVision, due to be revealed at the end of this year.

Producing between 160 kW (218 hp) and 290 kW (394 hp), it will be used not only in battery-electric vehicles but also in hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles, including the future Trafic and Master commercial vehicles.

The second electric motor, meanwhile, is intended for city cars and compact models such as the new Renault 5, which will be exclusively electric and is expected to arrive in 2023. This smaller motor will offer a minimum output of 46 hp.

Source: L’Argus