The sixth generation of Renault Clio, planned for 2026, is to be significantly different in terms of drive and design from the current one, which came on the market five years ago.
The current Renault Clio, which has been in production since 2019 with one upgrade, already offers a hybrid drive as its highest level of electrification. However, the next generation, whose unveiling is planned for 2026, is to go a significant step further – it is to become an electric car. But not exclusively, at least according to the British magazine Autocar.
Renault wants to offer affordable electrified cars, and the next clio will be an example of this – according to the British, it will be available as a hybrid on the CMF-B platform, which is also used by the current generation. It is to be supplemented by an electric version that will use the new Ampr Small platform.
It should exist in three sizes. The middle one will support the already revealed model 5 and the upcoming crossover 4, a smaller version will become the basis of the future twinga, and finally a larger version just for the clio. It should remain in its current category and thus be a rival for the Peugeot e-208 or similarly large electric cars.
The CMF-B and Ampr Small platforms are not exactly the same, but roughly 60% of the parts are the same. The dimensions are also comparable, and the suspension structures and various connection points are the same. It is therefore possible to build the same body on both, so that an electric and a hybrid clio can be created.
What the new product will look like is, of course, hidden from the eyes of anyone outside of Renault. But it should be significantly different from the current model, which is quite reminiscent of the previous generation, introduced in 2012. It is likely to carry the design language of the electric Megane and the stage.
However, it is not certain whether the electric clio will come to the market immediately with the launch of the new generation. In theory, before the de facto ban on internal combustion engines in 2035, one more generation of the clio can pass before it has to switch to battery power, at least according to the words of Renault’s chief engineer Gilles Le Borgne, who is a supporter of offering several different types of drive in one car.
