Renault Estafette returns! Striking concept previews the future of electric vans
Renault taps into its past once again, naming its new electric van after 1959 original
Renault has raided its back catalogue of names once again by revealing the Renault Estafette Concept, an all-electric van study that’s designed to showcase Renault’s vision of future last-mile deliveries. It was revealed at the IAA Transportation show in Hannover, Germany, and is part of the company’s joint venture with Volvo Group and French logistics firm CMA CGM.
The Estafette name was announced at the last minute, and comes from a Renault van introduced in 1959. That model was a conventional front-engined, front-wheel drive vehicle and remained in production until the 1980s, when the Trafic took its place. The Estafette name is a derivation of the Italian word staffetta, which translates to courier in English.
The concept model shares the same round, low-set headlights as the original, while the overall design is described by Renault as “Smeg fridge meets a plush toy”. Under the skin is a typical all-electric powertrain, and the running gear is packaged at the front of the van to maximise space inside.
While the Estafette’s footprint is largely the same as a Kangoo small van’s, the tall 2.59-metre high body creates a ‘walk-through’ from cab to cargo area. That space measures in at 7.1 cubic metres, which is comparable to that of the medium-sized Renault Trafic.
Access to the cargo area is via a sliding side door and a roller shutter at the rear. Renault states that there’s a “one-way” system for loading and unloading, with goods placed in the cargo area at the depot via the rear roller door, while the side door is for unloading at the kerbside. There are also easy-sliding doors to the cab that are designed to reduce the amount of time and effort needed for the driver to open and close them.
Other design highlights include a wraparound windscreen, ‘pop-top’ roof and two-tone colour scheme, while the prominent Renault logo on the nose is illuminated.
Inside, the cab has a single seat for the driver, and this swivels for ease of access and features seven drawers for storage. Anybody up to 1.9 metres tall is apparently able to stand up inside, while the dashboard features multiple screens; a seven-inch driver’s display, a 12-inch touchscreen and a pair of 10-inch screens at either end of the dash that relay images from the rear-view cameras. The lurid all-yellow colour scheme is likely to be replaced by a more sensible and durable black plastic finish for production.
As well as funky design, the Estafette also showcases Renault’s latest SDV (Software-Defined Vehicle) EV platform. This scalable tech is designed to offer seamless connectivity for fleet users, so includes telematics and cloud-based software that allows for easy tech upgrades over-the-air.
No details have been given about the Estafette’s powertrain, or even if the final production model will look like the concept. However, with Renault embracing retro-inspired design with cars such as the new 5 and upcoming 4, and confirming that Estafette previews a production model that will arrive in two years’ time, don’t go betting against it looking vaguely similar to this concept.
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