After unveiling its hybrid car strategy, Renault is opening a new chapter in its history with the introduction of the E-TECH hybrid petrol engine, presented in preview at the Geneva Motor Show. Renault Clio will feature the engine from onwards 2020.
Savings and driving pleasure at the wheel of the Renault Clio hybrid
This Renault Clio hybrid with E-TECH engine offers the same versatility as its counterparts with an exclusively combustion engine. It adds the advantages of electricity in terms of emission reduction, fuel consumption and driving pleasure.
The E-TECH powertrain is built around a 1.6 litre petrol engine and two electric motors. While the first electric motor is dedicated to traction, the second is used to start the internal combustion engine; both allow the recovery of energy during braking. Thus, the car systematically starts in electric mode, so that the driver benefits from the immediately available torque.
The whole system is automatically controlled by a multimode clutchless gearbox of the DHT (Dedicated Hybrid Transmission) type. This intelligent gearbox, designed by the Renault design studio, orchestrates engine operation in real time and uses deceleration phases to recharge the battery thanks to a powerful regenerative engine brake.
On the road, it uses gasoline and electric combustion engines together or separately depending on the circumstances.
“The entire powertrain offers excellent fuel efficiency, which allows the car to be driven entirely electrically in town up to 80% of the time, while benefiting from instantaneous reactivity when starting or accelerating,” explains Grégoire Ginet, Deputy Commercial Range Manager for Powertrain/Electrification at Groupe Renault.
Beyond the silence and pleasure they offer, hybrid engines reduce fuel consumption by up to 40% compared to a conventional gasoline combustion engine in an urban cycle.
The Renault Clio hybrid: designed by the leader in electric mobility in Europe
In addition to Clio hybrids, Renault’s “electrified” range will include two other models from 2020, with the launch of the plug-in hybrid versions of the Captur and Mégane.
Other models will then follow, until the Group achieves the objective set as part of its Drive the Future plan: to total 8 electric vehicles and 12 hybrids by 2022.
“It made sense to introduce the hybrid on the leading car in the B segment of multi-purpose city cars in Europe. Clio hybrid E-TECH is in tune with the times, with a complementary positioning to that of our range of 100% electric vehicles,” explains Grégoire Ginet. In particular, the hybrid makes sense for a main car, which regularly has to make long journeys.
In its hybrid version, Clio benefits from Renault’s expertise in the field of electric cars. For example, its batteries use the same lithium-ion cells as those of the ZOE, which leads sales in Europe, particularly in France.
The entire powertrain offers excellent fuel efficiency, which allows the car to be driven entirely electrically in town up to 80% of the time.
Ginet Grégoire, Deputy Commercial Range Manager for Powertrain/Electrification, Groupe Renault
Copyrights: Renault Communication
All the hybrid vehicles in your country
Discover our range
