Renault’s design future: concept car, new Rafale and new Scenic to aim for audacity
Alexandre Malval, the new head of Renault brand design, vows to deliver family cars with personality, audacity and great proportions
Injecting personality into the next-generation Rafale flagship, and Austral and Scenic mid-size SUVs, tops the to-do list of new Renault design lead Alexandre Malval.
Giving his first major UK interview, the experienced designer and Renault fanboy outlined his vision for taking the company’s design to the next level, to fend off intense Chinese competition.
“We’re digging into the DNA of the brand,” he tells Auto Express. “What is Renault, why is it appealing and different? ‘Voiture à vivre’ [cars for life] is a fantastic slogan and the main value of a company that speaks to everyone, offers cars around the world, is so affordable and accompanies families and couples in their life.”
Paris motor show concept and mid-size cars
The original Espace and Scenic MPVs are the modern Renaults embodying this philosophy, becoming smash hits with their spaciousness, seating versatility and human-centric focus on comfort and storage. Their theme of ‘crafted space’ will underpin an upcoming mid-size concept, the first public expression of the Malval era, but when? “Pretty soon, maybe in October,” he tells us. “It’s a bit early for a production car; my first will be in a couple of years.”
The priority is mid-size cars, with the Rafale, Austral hybrid and Scenic EV set for renewal as Renault continues its drive to sell more lucrative, larger cars. “I’m working hard on the core portfolio,” explains Malval. “Renault should be audacious. My main challenge is to give a strong personality to the cars we’re preparing on the C-segment. That's a segment I love very much, and I have a strong background with Audi and Mercedes that helps me understand the customers.”
Mid-size cars with strong proportions
The Renault design chief, who reports into group design boss Laurens van den Acker, drives a Rafale coupe-SUV, with the 300-horsepower hybrid 4x4 powertrain. Its successor’s all-new ‘RG EV Medium 2.0’ electrified architecture will be rear- or all-wheel drive – does it have the flexibility to unlock great proportions?
“We’ve had a positive exchange with engineering in order to give the cars a great personality,” he responds. “It’s ultimately a matter of cost, but I can [manipulate the] proportion – wheelbase, size of the wheels, track, everything – as long as it makes sense. [Renault Group CEO] Francois Provost is very sensitive about successful design, as well as [Renault brand CEO] Fabrice Cambolive. If we should change [something] to make the car even better, they will try to help. There is a very positive and dynamic spirit around design at the moment.”
Renaults true to their heritage but with evolved designs
Malval wants new Renaults’ crafted interiors to be packed with human-first tech, “great ergonomics and intuitive” operation. Other core pillars are “electrified by passion” and “designed to be loved”. With long-running ‘saga’ models, “we have to keep the spirit of the concept but we can change the design: we don’t want the next Scenic to look like the last one. The new Clio shouldn’t look like the 1990 car, it should be the perfect product for today’s B-segment. The range of engines, perfect package for the family – and the design can still evolve.”
But has the new Clio become too aggressive? Aside from working for the German premium brands, Malval is best known for shaping the last generation of Citroën design, starring the cuddly, cute and curvaceous C4 Cactus and C5 Aircross.
“I don't think we should be overly aggressive, I don’t think it’s in Renault’s DNA,” he argues. “But it also depends on the product. If we want to give them all a strong personality, maybe some will be slightly more sporty, some will be more in the ‘voiture à vivre’ spirit: we don’t want to do clones. We’ll see how we play with these values. We won’t put the same ingredients in each vehicle, and we have the classic icons and the core models.”
By returning to Renault to lead the brand’s design, Malval has gone full circle back to his first employer, who sponsored him through London’s Royal College of Art in the ‘90s. “My father used to drive Renaults: I grew up in a Renault 4 and Renault 5.” As a youngster, Malval used to go to the local dealership and ask for posters and stickers to decorate his room: “Formula 1, Renault 25, the Fuego. I even had a poster of the Renault Master van, designed by Gandini! The brand really speaks to me.”
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