Renault Espace could return as retro electric MPV

Renault is considering reviving the Espace MPV, as the flexibility of the company’s electric car platforms enables it to explore and revisit a range of different bodystyles.

The Espace is currently a stretched seven-seat version of the Austral hybrid SUV, but Autocar understands the name could be redeployed for an electric people carrier that’s truer to the concept – and design – of the original, launched in 1984.

Renault’s global leader for the Ampr Medium platform, Olivier Brosse, told Autocar that a resurrection of the seminal people carrier is “something we are contemplating” as Renault expands its electric car line-up into new segments.

He said: “Technically I think it is possible, but after that we would have to consider if an MPV would be accepted by European customers.”

An electric, seven-seat Espace MPV based on the Ampr Medium architecture (formerly known as CMF-EV) that underpins the Mégane and Scenic electric crossovers would give Renault a rival to the likes of the Volkswagen ID Buzz and Kia EV9. Just as importantly, it could face off against the wave of new Chinese electric MPVs, such as the Maxus Mifa 7, Xpeng X9 and Zeekr Mix.

However, Brosse was keen to point out that an electric MPV would bring with it some fundamental technical challenges.