Australian market too small for more Renault EVs – exec

Renault Australia has just added a third electric vehicle (EV) to its current lineup, but its boss says Australia’s EV market share would have to grow significantly before the brand launches a full-on electric assault.

The Scenic E-Tech is the fourth Renault EV ever sold in Australia after the Zoe, Kangoo E-Tech, and Megane E-Tech, but despite several other new EVs launching overseas, Renault Australia general manager Glen Sealey says the local market just isn’t ready.

“We’re looking at Renault 4, we’re looking at Renault 5, you’ve got Twingo in there, you’ve got a whole raft of electric cars from Renault coming through,” he told media at the local launch of the Scenic E-Tech.

“But we’ve got three [EVs] in market for a 1.2-million market size for which less than 10 per cent is electric; we would need to see that change markedly before we brought more cars in.

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“With the models that we’ve got in play, it’s enough for a market our size given the penetration of electrification. If we were talking 40 per cent of the market was EV, that’s a very different discussion, because you’ve got scale.”

In 2025, EVs accounted for just 8.3 per cent of the 1,241,037 vehicles sold, up from a 7.4 per cent share in 2024.

Renault delivered only 4569 vehicles in Australia with a mix of powertrains, while Tesla, for example, sold 28,856 units with just two EV-only models.

In Renault’s overseas EV catalogue are the Twingo E-Tech, Renault 4 E-Tech, and Renault 5 E-Tech, the latter of which was Europe’s best-selling subcompact EV in 2025. However, Mr Sealey has outlined that some Australian safety regulations are also preventing those models from being sold locally.

In any case, Renault EVs like the Scenic E-Tech (priced from $55,990 before on-road costs) will be increasingly important in the coming years, as Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) will penalise manufacturers for exceeding increasingly strict carbon emissions targets.

While Renault was one of several brands to meet the first fleet-wide CO2 target, thereby avoiding penalties for the time being, its reluctance to introduce additional EVs could be offset by a rollout of new-generation hybrids such as the Symbioz small SUV. It’s possible the Symbioz could replace the Captur locally.

“You have to look at the fuel mix or the drivetrain mix, and Renault’s got some great hybrids that we will be bringing into the country within a raft of six [new or refreshed] cars within the next six months,” Mr Sealey said.

“If the [EV demand] trend keeps going north, you keep assessing and then bring it in. There’s no definitive point where we say ‘okay, that’s it, let’s go’. 

“There would be a definitive point where we say ‘okay, can the [manufacturer] make money, does it work for the dealers, and does it work for the customer base?’ That’s the three ingredients that have to work.”

Even so, it’s clear Renault’s global efforts towards electrification are showing no signs of slowing down. Renault recently revealed the Filante, a South Korean-built hybrid SUV sharing underpinnings with various Geely models, while a new Trafic E-Tech van was revealed in late 2025.

There have also been reports suggesting that Ampere, Renault’s independently run EV division, will be reintegrated into the French brand by July 2026. This will streamline the development and manufacturing processes for Renault’s EVs, and potentially for those of Alliance partners Mitsubishi and Nissan.

Most recently, Renault’s next-gen electric cars built on its newest EV platform, RGEV Medium 2.0, were previewed with the R-Space Lab concept.

This EV architecture is expected to support two all-electric configurations (one with up to 750km of WLTP range) and one extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) version, providing up to 1400km of total range.

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