The automotive industry’s transformation will be more than complex: it will be total! The paradigm has shifted: the world is now aware that it is fragile. This applies to climate change as much as natural resources and the models underpinning society. There is a broad consensus around the need for change. The goal now is to turn this collective awareness into a motor for a greener, safer, more inclusive future. The challenges surrounding climate change, resource preservation and evolving mobility habits are radically reshaping the automotive industry’s value chain. The Group, which was one of the first to venture into the electric vehicle arena over a decade ago, will do much more to advance decarbonisation than reduce emissions in use. Today Renault is unveiling its Renault Scenic Vision concept car, which embodies its sustainable development commitments and encapsulates them in a vehicle. It takes Renault’s decarbonisation plan and adapts it to the full life-cycle of a vehicle. Through its Raison d’Etre (Purpose) and its ongoing Renaulution strategic plan, Renault Group and its brands have embarked on an extensive transformation, shifting the focus away from volume and towards economic, environmental and social value, and have set their sights on carbon neutrality in Europe by 2040 and worldwide by 2050. To achieve this, the Renault brand is for example aiming for an entirely electric range in Europe by 2030.
Transport accounts for 23% of CO2e* emissions worldwide, and 45% of those emissions come from passenger travel on roads. Renault, which has been spearheading electric mobility in Europe for more than 10 years, is looking into alternatives to address the full range of mobility requirements. The Renault Scenic Vision concept car is powered by a one-of-a-kind hybrid – electric and hydrogen – propulsion system. It has a new-generation motor-engine, a smaller battery, with a smaller carbon footprint, and a fuel cell running on green hydrogen. And it is ushering mobility into a completely new age, which the Group believes is viable for the coming decade. “It’s not just carbon dioxide (CO2) but all greenhouse gases that are the root cause of global warming. In order to expresses a carbon footprint with a single unit, all other greenhouse gases are converted into CO2 equivalents otherwise known as ‘CO2E’ (or even ‘CO2EQ)”. Renault Scenic Vision’s 160 kW electrically excited synchronous motor derives directly from All-new Renault Megane E-TECH Electric’s motor and is made at the plant in Cléon. It uses no rare-earth elements, which helps to reduce its carbon footprint and create a responsible and sustainable ecosystem. The 40 kWh battery is recyclable and will be made in France by 2024 at the Renault ElectriCity Gigafactory. It is two times lighter, smaller and actually costs less than a battery for a similar electric vehicle. And it has a 16 kW fuel cell to recharge it during long drives and thus extend its range.
In 2030 and beyond, once the network of hydrogen stations is large enough, you will be able to drive up to 800 km – or, for instance, 750 km from Paris to Marseille – without stopping to charge the battery. You will only have to stop for 5 minutes or less to fill the hydrogen tank. So, once you leave Paris, a 5-minute stop in Lyon, say, will be enough to reach Marseille. A singular and specific platform to include hydrogen. Renault Scenic Vision has an all-new platform that is purpose-designed to fit all the components: the electric motor, hydrogen engine, battery, fuel cell and hydrogen tank. The engine is at the rear, so there is enough space for the 2.5 kg hydrogen tank at the front; the fuel cell is under the floor, at the back of the platform, behind the battery. This propulsion system’s operation of Renault Scenic Vision is simple and efficient. You can drive the car as a conventional electric vehicle, without using the fuel cell, on your daily trips. Then, when you want to travel longer distances, the use of fuel cell it’s privileged because it’s quicker to top up the hydrogen tank than to charge the battery. A “route planner” calculates the power that the fuel cell needs to supply to keep the battery charged for longer, so that you don’t have to charge it on the way.. That way, you don’t have to charge the battery until you park the car at your destination. When the weather is cold, the hydrogen range-extender also keeps the battery at the right temperate for optimal operation and extra range.
An invitation to travel. This was the first Scenic concept car’s promise, more than 30 years ago, in 1991. A promise that marked its time. Renault invented the compact minivan with a friendly family car that treated everyone to a one-of-a-kind travel experience, where memories from the journey lingered after you reached your destination. This “car of the future” also inspired today’s car. After four generations, Renault Scenic is reinventing itself; and this model is not just a silhouette, it is an experience like no other. With the new Renault Scenic Vision concept car, this car for life and for living is back and its invitation – to enjoy every second with your family, share every moment, while enjoying unparalleled comfort and optimum space inside – is still on. Tapping into 30 years of experience, the new Scenic Vision concept car is more than a car: it is a vehicle for a vision.Scenic’s original DNA is still there, but it has evolved. The world has changed over the past three decades. So has the automotive universe. The notion of travel has changed, travel habits have changed with it, the significance of cars is not the same, needs are changing shape. This concept car encapsulates a new vision for the family car. Its exterior design provides a preview of an all-electric model that will be unveiled in 2024. This C segment vehicle designed for long family journeys will come with all the advantages of the CMF-EV platform, plus take well-being on board to new heights.
Renault is writing a new chapter in its history with an innovative concept car that shows the way and brings the vision to life. Outside, it heralds the Renault range’s future all-electric family car. Inside, it invites travellers into a new time, into a future where technology and innovation will make the world more sustainable and more environmentally-friendly. The Scenic Vision concept car is blazing a new trail to more sustainable, safer and more inclusive mobility. It is visionary and exploratory, it brings the most futuristic decarbonisation technologies to life today, and it embodies the three pillars of Renault Group’s sustainable development strategy: carbon neutrality, safety and inclusion. At its 2021 Annual General Meeting, Renault Group detailed the sustainable development policy it is rolling out in its Renaulution strategic plan. This bold policy is actively supporting the Group’s transformation strategy and its progress towards its performance objectives. These commitments – which are contributing to transforming the Group into a greener, more high-tech enterprise that generates its revenues in new business fields revolving around data, energy and services – are the company’s Raison d’Etre in action. They embody its values of innovation and solidarity.
