Renault NZ’s boss explains why the brakes have been pulled on plans to put the car on sale from February 2024.

CLEAN car eligibility would have applied to the new electric car Renault intended to release in New Zealand, but the rebate’s imminent cessation has not solely dictated why it has been pulled.

This from Scott Kelsey, general manager of the French brand’s distributor, explaining further that while the Megane E-Tech, a five-seater sports utility, is definitely not going to release in February of 2024 as had been planned, it could yet come here at a later date.

Kelsey was speaking after a potential customer revealed online that Renault NZ, which is part of the Global Motors New Zealand, had sent out a message yesterday revealing a last-minute u-turn on launching the model tasked with re-energising the make’s electric vehicle involvement here.

Megane E-Tech’s pricing and model plan remains under wraps, but at least one version would have been positioned to achieve the $7015 Clean Car rebate that has incentivised purchase of new electric vehicles selling for less than $80,000.

The new National Party-led coalition Government has vowed to curtal that assistance by December 31, though some in the industry believe it could cease earlier.

Ending Clean Car rebates and penalties it imposes on high CO2 vehicles has been identified as a matter of urgency by the new administration.

Kelsey said everything with Megane E-Tech depended on where it would price in a market that was set for a huge amount of change.

Ultimately, his operation did not feel comfortable going ahead with the launch. Just at the moment.

“It was all about market condition. And, yes, the regulatory changes that have been signalled obviously affect that market condition. They have not helped.

“But, really, it was a bigger picture than that. We made the call despite Clean Car. 

“We re not saying it will never be here. Electric vehicles are going to part of our market for a long time,” he said, reminding there were 31 brands selling EVs to Kiwis.

“Clearly there is going to be a bit of a rejigging of everything at the moment. We just didn’t feel comfortable.”

Renault NZ’s product plan appears to tie to that for Australia, where the car will still launch, also in February. A Renault NZ staffer will be at that event, to meet with factory representatives and there could be more clarity about Megane E-Tech’s prospects here after that.

The car has been subject to an intense pre-launch viral campaign, with the Auckland-centred distributor’s website asking potential sign-ups to signal interest.

Yesterday one of those prospects shared, via an electric vehicle owners’ Facebook page, a communication from Renault NZ saying the launch was off because this was not right time for the medium-sized five seater sports utility.

“There has been a huge level of interest in the Megane E-Tech,” the letter begins.

“We wanted to update you on its expected arrival time in New Zealand.

“We planned to launch this model early in 2024, but have since decided it is not the right time to bring it into the country.

“This has been a difficult decision to make as we know Megane E-Tech is a significant milestone for Renault.

“At this stage, we don’t have a date for the model’s arrival - we’ll get in touch if the situation changes.”

Global Motors has at least one E-Tech here. In May it secured an evaluation model for a factory-required trial to ensure its impressive span of crash avoidance software was foible-free in NZ conditions. 

At that time, Kelsey explained this was a last detail before full scale shipment.

Renault NZ had been watching the electric sales revolution from the side line since dropping the Zoe in early 2022 due to a crash test embarrassment.

Megane E-Tech was seen as a clean slate restart and a whole new opportunity. 

Renault’s first mainstream family car to go fully electric is built atop the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance's latest CMF-EV dedicated electric platform.

It also divests historic hatchback styling to reinterpret as an avant garde sports utility and is packed with fresh technology, including a new 'ultra-thin' battery. 

When Kelsey spoke on April 26, he expressed that Megane E-Tech wasn’t the only car on Renault NZ’s mind. There was also desire to add Austral, a second battery hatch which sits between the Captur and Koleos, has much the same styling as the Megane e-Tech and dedicates to electrified powertrains, including a new 1.2-litre petrol engine with a 48V mild-hybrid system.

He explained then there was enthusiasm to rewire New Zealand involvement into a global electric strategy Renault is now committed to, a year on from when it felt a nasty jolt when Zoe was pulled. 

Megane E-Tech is far more advanced than Zoe, particularly in respect to accident mitigation assists. Standard systems include distance warning alert, traffic-sign recognition, automatic emergency braking with junction assist including pedestrian and cyclist alerts, cruise control with speed limiter, driver drowsiness alert, emergency lane keeping assist with oncoming traffic and road-edge detection and hill start assist.

Megane E-Tech provisions with 40kWh and 60kWh battery packs, with the bigger of those two claiming a WLTP-tested driving range of 450 kilometres and making 164kW (whereas the smaller creates 97kW and will clock 300kms between charges).

This is the second use of the 'CMF-EV' platform; Nissan had first dibs with the Ariya SUV also expected to show here in 2024 to replace the current Leaf, though that model now also has a successor in the works.

Though classified as a SUV, Megane E-Tech is effectively an 'inflated' hatchback shape sitting on big (up to 20-inch) alloy wheels. Renault has taken opportunity to get all fancy with the lights; the front LEDs have complex laser-cut 3D textures while the brake lights are two vertical strips, 'like a pause sign', the brand says. Smooth body surfacing, including flush-fit door handles, enables a drag coefficient of 0.29.