Renault to introduce new shapes in move away from traditional SUVs

The next-generation of Renault vehicles that will arrive starting in 2028 are set to eschew SUV design in favour of new body styles featuring “breakthrough concepts”, with new design language hinted at by the recent Embleme concept, according to the firm’s design chief.

The French firm recently confirmed that it would launch a “new generation” of EV from 2028 onwards. They will sit on a new platform hinted at by the Embleme concept shown at the Paris motor show, and which are claimed to offer radical advances in efficiency and sustainability. But he also confirmed that the new Renault 5, 4 and Twingo models would retain their own distinctive designs in future.

When it comes to the design of future models, Renault design boss Gilles Vidal said that “the big question is how to do you reinvent the next step in terms of concepts [and] silhouettes? What do they stand for? What are they for?”

Vidal said that was being considered in response to “a lot of SUV bashing”, but noted that “people still want, and sometimes even need them. SUVs have replaced MPVs, more or less, and some people still buy them for practical reasons.

“It makes you wonder what should we do that’s less questionable in terms of heritage, and more efficient, and therefore deserves a new kind of shape?”

Vidal cited efforts to oppose SUVs in Paris, where authorities have introduced extra parking charges due to their size and weight. He noted: “there’s still a huge fight against SUVs on principal, but would you say the same thing about MPVs? They are the same weight, have the same engines, the same CO2 emissions. But no-one would ever criticise an MPV, a respectable family product. Who are we to criticise aggressive looking cars? It's only a shape, you know, so can you critisise shapes and characters?”

Regardless, Vidal said that, especially because “people will still need big cars”, the question was “what character do you give to those products? And beyond that, what are the next things? It seems like we’ve seen it all. The world invented the Espace and the Scenic, and big fat SUVs and then more respectable crossovers. Along with almost 140 years of automobile history it seems like we’ve seen it all – but surely there are new things to invent; new very meaningful concepts and silhouettes regarding society’s questions in today’s world.”

Embleme concept hints at future line-up

The Embleme concept takes the form of a bold coupe-SUV. While a production version of it will likely arrive in a few years, Renault design boss Gilles Vidal said the concept is also a more accurate representation of its future line-up than its recent models inspired by its heritage.

“The cars before the Embleme were maybe a bit misleading,” said Vidal, “because you see a 5, a 4, a Twingo. The 5 and 4 are retro-futuristic, and the Twingo never stopped [production] but we’re going back to the design cues of the first one. But that’s a big misleading because every design is specific to one car. We’ve done three of those in a row, so people ask ‘is this a new Renault thing or what?’