Renault Embleme: pineapples, hydrogen and Europe’s EV future

In 2021, Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo announced that the French carmaker would follow a three point ‘Renaulution’ programme to reverse its flagging fortunes.

During the late 2010s when the automotive world was becoming increasingly exciting thanks to electrification, Renault was seemingly undergoing a period of stagnation. Aside from longterm stalwarts, the Clio and the Mégane, the brand’s line-up – unlike today – was seemingly lacklustre.

De Meo’s Renaulution was built around three points: “Resurrection” focusing on margins and cash generation recovery until 2023; “Renovation” aimed at introducing new models by 2025, including the award-winning new Renault 5 and Renault 4 EVs; “Revolution” looking beyond 2025 and pivoting Renault’s business model to tech, energy, and mobility to position the Renault Group as a leader in the EV sector.

De Meo’s Renaulution was “more than a turnaround” and would be spearheaded by an engineering-led approach to drive competitiveness both in terms of finances and products. This part of the Renaulution includes a target for the Renault Group to achieve net zero carbon in Europe by 2040, and across the rest of the world a decade later.

I hear you asking, how will one of the most exciting EV makers achieve this lofty goal? Cue the Renault Emblème – a halo demo vehicle (or “rolling laboratory”) responsible for just five tonnes of CO2 emissions over the course of its life, the equivalent of around 200,000 kilometres or 20 years’s average driving.

For context, over that same time period, Renault found that its petrol-engined Captur compact crossover will generate 49 tonnes of CO2. This includes material extraction and component production, manufacture, transport, day-to-day use, and end-of-life recycling.

To ensure the 90% carbon footprint reduction from Captur to Embleme, the latter’s project lead Pascal Trebotté implemented a six-point plan for Renault’s halo EV.

Given the engine in a petrol-powered car is responsible for 80% of its CO2 emissions, Trebotté cited electrification as the biggest factor in decarbonising the Emblème. Powering the car is a 215bhp electric motor, connected to a 40kWh battery. As part of its emissions drive, Renault has ensured neither component uses any rare earth materials in its manufacture.

To ensure a range of up to 1,000 miles without relying on a large, emissions-heavy battery, the Embleme’s electric drivetrain is paired with a 2.8-litre zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell, which recharges the battery and – in the event of hydrogen and hydrogen stations entering the mainstream during the next decade or so – serves as a range extender.

As a former employee of the Renault-now-Alpine Formula 1 Team, Trebotté and, by default, his team understand the importance of efficiency in terms of range and carbon footprint reduction. While the Emblème still weighs in at 1,750kg, it’s a 4.8-metre long wagon. To put things into perspective, the similarly-sized, electric-only Audi A6 Avant e-tron tips the scales at 2,410kg.

In order to attain this sylph-like figure, Renault has stripped out “every superfluous kilogram” in the Emblème’s construction. In fact, 70% of the car’s components include at least 50% recycled and/or lightweight natural materials.

Step inside the Emblème’s cabin, and the interior trim is created using pineapple fibres from Normandy-based firm, Forvia. FYI, those are the hairy bits of the pineapple, not the nice, juicy bits you pretend to enjoy at breakfast on holiday. Other parts of the interior are fashioned from linen fibres also produced by Forvia. Renault estimates that this cuts the emissions associated with the construction of the Embleme’s cabin by 72% compared with a 2020 Mégane.

On the recurring theme of emissions, the Embleme’s active aerodynamics have been developed with some help from the Alpine F1 outfit. Combining a flat floor and a bespoke electric platform developed by Ampere – Renault’s EV arm – with integrated mirrors, and aerodisc wheels, the Emblème slices through the air with a drag co-efficient of just 0.25Cd; a figure positioning it somewhere around the middle of the list of the top 10 most aerodynamic road cars in automotive history.

Perhaps most importantly, however, Renault has sought to keep the Emblème very much a European car. Since the project began in the early 2020s, the French car maker has enlisted 20 European technical partners from Forvia who we menti0ned earlier, to Michelin for the tyres, and Switzerland’s Autoneum for the Emblème’s thermal and acoustic insulation.

While keeping things relatively local keeps emissions low by reducing transport times to Renault’s dedicated ‘ElectriCity’ EV plant in Douai, northern France, it demonstrates that Europe – and Renault especially – remains committed to electrification despite some stiff competition, and challenges in terms of sales.

It’s no secret that Chinese EVs have made a significant dent in the European EV market. As early as April this year, BYD outsold Tesla in both Germany and the United Kingdom. Given brands such as BYD and Xpeng undercut European rivals by some margin, yet often provide superior tech and build quality, there’s no surprise that Chinese carmakers have gained such a foothold.

By bringing together several European technical partners and exploring what’s truly possible in terms of technology and innovation, Renault has made it clear that Europe can go head-to-head with not just China, but with Kia and Hyundai – the South Korean twins considered by most to be EV world’s benchmark manufacturers in terms of pretty much everything.

During Ampere Day at Renault’s ElectriCity facility towards the end of 2024, the Emblème was very much a focal point. At the event, Renault Group CEO de Meo was quoted as saying: “you might think Emblème is just a concept, but if you know me, you know that whenever I put something on a stage, I tend to do it in the end.”

Should de Meo follow up on his statement, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t – don’t forget, the Italian is the architect of Renault’s turnaround, and the R5 and 4 are very much his children of the Renaulution – the competitiveness of the European EV industry lies squarely at the feet of the continent’s other car makers to at least match what Renault is currently doing.