Renault Megane e-Tech on sale late 2023 from about $75K

Aussies are already queuing to own the new Renault Megage e-Tech electric hatchback that will arrive in dealerships late in 2023.

The first ground-up EV design for Renault – others such as the Zoe and Kangoo ZE utilised modified ICE architectures – the Megane e-Tech has attracted significant early interest, according to importer Ateco, which has brought a single left-hand drive vehicle to Australia in preparation for Australian deliveries late this year.

“Our expressions of interest is in the thousands,” says Renault Australia general manager Glen Sealey, tempering it by clarifying “that’s an expression of interest, it’s not a contract”.

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While pricing is yet to be finalised, Sealey says the Megane e-Tech will be priced in the “mid-to-low $70,000s” bracket, before on-road costs.

That would make it about the same price as a Tesla Model Y or Hyundai Ioniq 5, each of which are bigger vehicles.

But Sealey says style will attract people to the French-made EV.

“The best thing going for that car is the way it looks.”

The Megane e-Tech is based on the CMF-EV platform that also underpins the Nissan Ariya.

At 4364mm long it’s about the size of a small hatchback, although clever packaging means there’s more interior space. The boot, in particular, is very deep.

Renault Australia will only offer a single model here.

It will use the most powerful 160kW/300Nm motor driving the front wheels and a 60kWh battery pack claimed to give 450km of WLTP range.

“We’ve chosen to take just the larger battery for Australia, the larger motor for Australia and the higher specification for Australia,” says Sealey. “We’re a small market, it pays to keep it simple.”

It will be covered by Renault’s five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty but include a separate eight-year, 160,000km warranty for the high voltage battery, guaranteeing at least 70 percent of the original capacity after that time.

Renault Australia says the challenge with the Megane e-Tech will be securing enough given the high global demand.

But Sealey says the car will play a decent role from a volume perspective, albeit small against the likes of Tesla and BYD.

Asked if the brand could sell more than 100 per month, he said: “We’d like to think we could do that, but we don’t know. The initial interest is very strong, but that’s without knowing the price.”

The one thing that could divert more of the limited supply to Australia is the anticipated CO2 emissions regulations that are expected to be announced soon.

“If tomorrow the government legislated and put in place fuel efficiency standards that meant we got better access to product from Renault, that could be a game changer,” says Sealey.

Prior to the Megane e-Tech arriving in Australia, Renault will launch its second-generation Kangoo – which will again have the option of an electric drivetrain.

Rather the Kangoo ZE name – denoting zero emissions – the new one will adopt the e-Tech nomenclature.

The Kangoo e-Tech will arrive in Australia in the third quarter of 2023 and still be pitched at small businesses. But, again, Renault believes emissions regulations could make it more appealing than the original electric Kangoo.

Sealey says the Kangoo e-Tech will be priced from the “mid-$60,000” bracket.

Beyond that, the reborn Renault 5 is also on the wishlist for Australia, although there are some boxes that need to be ticked.

“There’s significant interest from us [in the Renault 5],” says Sealey, adding that the earliest it would get here is 2025.

“If they make it in right-hand drive, we’ve got our hand up.

“It’s then – will they make the additional investment to engineer a car for ADRs for Australia?”