Exclusive! Radical Renault 5 electric hatch warming for Australia as Tesla rival after Geneva negotiations

Following a European summit the funky Renault 5 electric hatch is inching closer to Australia – potentially providing a cool-looking counterpunch to the Tesla electric car onslaught.

But the face-to-face meetings between Renault head office heavies and local executives from importer Ateco at the Geneva motor show made clear there are still hurdles to overcome before the retro-infused hatchback makes its way Down Under.

Days after returning from his mission to Geneva where the Renault 5 E-Tech was officially launched, Renault Australia director Glen Sealey said he was still busy building a case for the compact five-door.

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“There was a very strong favourable response to the vehicle,” said Sealey of the public reaction to production versions of the Renault 5 that was shown in Geneva.

“It is a vehicle that really hits the heartstrings – and it’s even better in the flesh. It’s just such a fantastic icon for the brand – it certainly hits the right note.”

Sealey says that while he reiterated the case for the R5 locally there were still gateways that have to be passed. 

Key among those in engineering and manufacturing the car to Australian Design Regulations (ADRs).

“We see a vehicle like that working exceptionally well in Australia. We just need to be able to overcome all the hurdles that are in between that,” he said, nominating ADRS as the biggest of those.

For now, though, it’s a matter of waiting.

“The process is very clear: you launch, you supply the European market and then you assess other markets in terms of their viability moving forward – and we’re not at that stage yet.”

The R5 isn’t alone on the Renault Australia wish list. Sealey also wants the next generation Scenic people mover that is EV only.

”Both products [R5 and Scenic] are products that we would like,” he said, adding that “it comes down to a business case”.

But he believes the brand will be well positioned in the face of imminent strict fuel efficiency standards.

“When you look at the lineup of electrification from Renault it’s quite strong, from the very bottom end with [Dacia] Spring to R5 is a great city car to Scenic as a family car to Megane (E-Tech).”

While Renault globally has its eyes on plug-in hybrids, locally Sealey isn’t rushing to adopt the technology.

“We’ve not looked at a plug-in hybrid as yet for Renault,” he said, saying the brand’s fast-growing EV line-up may side-step such requirements.

“Given our electrification moving forward we may not have the need.”