Renault's new SUVs will look 'less like SUVs' from 2028 - get the picture

The brand's head of design says that future launches will be styled and shaped after the Emblème Concept

Photo by: Renault

By: Dyogo Fagundes

Dec 23, 2024 at 4:08am ET

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In a recent interview with the British magazine Autocar, Renault's head of design, Gilles Vidal, gave important hints about the style to be used in the brand's next launches. Speaking specifically about SUVs, the executive said that the new models will have lower bodies and will have a sportier overall style. The new philosophy will be adopted from 2028 and will be directly inspired by the Emblème Concept.

In this way, the prototype will lend the new models the same bold design and slightly lower body as a traditional SUV. "The Emblème is the best representation of what's to come for the brand globally in terms of design, and perhaps new silhouettes, for the future: generous shapes, not too minimalist, but simpler than what we've done recently in the Scènic," explained Vidal.

Renault Emblème concept

Source: Renault

The designer also said that he will be taking inspiration from the style of estates to design Renault's new SUVs. Paradoxically, the body has been losing market share precisely because of the rise of SUVs. According to Vidal, the sexier shapes, the lower roof lines and the large load areas of estates make perfect sense to balance aspects such as space, practicality and range in the brand's future electric SUVs.

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Vidal also recognised that anti-SUV sentiment, which is particularly strong in large European cities such as Paris, is being taken into account during the design process. Nevertheless, he reveals that so much criticism of SUVs is unjustified. "There's still a big campaign against SUVs, but would you say the same thing about MPVs? They have the same weight, the same engines, the same CO2 emissions, but nobody would ever criticise an MPV, a respectable family product," he questioned.

Photo by: Renault

As said, the new philosophy of "SUVs with less SUV flair" will be implemented from 2028 and will mainly involve electric models. Retro models such as Renault 4, Renault 5 and Twingo, will follow an independent path and will not be affected by the new strategy. In these cases, the timeless identity will be preserved in the same way that Fiat does with the 500.