Good things come in small packages: Renault Twingo van revealed as one-off concept
Renault has created a one-off Twingo van for French energy provider EDF, complete with a dedicated corporate colour scheme.
The passenger version of the electric-only Twingo has a 360-litre load capacity but with the rear seats removed, the Twingo van’s load-lugging capacity almost doubles to 797 litres. Its load bay is separated from the cabin, and is accessible from the Twingo van’s rear doors or tailgate.
The Renault’s rear section is separated from those up front via a mesh bulkhead, which also offers protection from errant, loose-flying packages. For security reasons, the Twingo van’s rear windows are almost completely opaque to hide the cargo onboard.
To tie in with the energy supplier’s corporate identity, the Twingo van is finished in bold EDF blue, paired with gloss-black headlight surrounds and white company branding.
After the Twingo van has finished its fleet duties, the van conversion can be reversed to ensure it retains its value as a passenger vehicle on the used market. Renault did not comment on the Twingo van’s underpinnings, suggesting that it’s no different to the standard car, which packs 82bhp, and a 163-mile range from its 27.5kWh battery.
Even if it makes it to production, the Renault Twingo van is unlikely to reach our shores. Nonetheless, should the demand for an electric Renault van linger, the Renault Kangoo e-tech – a compact city van – is available from £34,420 without the UK Government’s plug-in van grant.
A van version of the award-winning Renault 4 is also available from €29,300 in Europe, and is said to be under consideration for the UK market.
Renault isn’t the only carmaker to explore the trendy small van segment. Citroen sells a van version of its e-C3, and Volvo recently launched the EX30 Cargo – a commercial version of its compact crossover. The latter of the two promises up to 422bhp in range-topping, twin-motor T8 guise.
