Volkswagen just reminded Renault who's boss when it comes to range. The electric Renault 5 falls just 44 km short of the new ID. Polo — and that's enough to make the French carmaker nervous. The 52 kWh battery in the Renault 5 delivers up to 410 km WLTP, while the German rival with an identically sized pack claims 454 km. The difference isn't in the hardware. It's in how that hardware is made to work.
That's exactly why Renault has decided not to chase a bigger battery, but to squeeze more out of the one it already has. Marianne Bataillon, Renault's director of EV motor and battery development, told Autocar that the changes will arrive on the Renault 4 and Renault 5 by the end of 2026 or early 2027. The inverter and reducer are in the crosshairs. Upgrading them should boost the electric drivetrain's efficiency and power, though the company hasn't named any concrete figures yet. There's a promise — there isn't a spec sheet.
Both models currently sit on the AmpR Small platform and come with 40 or 52 kWh batteries. In Spain, the Renault 5 makes 95 or 120 hp with the smaller pack and 150 hp with the larger one, with ranges of 312 and 410 km respectively. The Renault 4 offers 120 or 150 hp and reaches up to 308 or 409 km WLTP. Those numbers are decent. But decent isn't enough anymore.
It's not just about the ID. Polo. The new Skoda Epiq crossover, built on the MEB+ architecture, claims around 440 km — 31 km more than the Renault 4's best result. And here's the catch: even without adding a single extra kWh of battery, Renault needs to boost efficiency by roughly 8–11% to fully close the gap to Volkswagen Group's newest models. Simply updating the motor won't be enough — it has to be done brilliantly.
So far, Renault has confirmed only the direction of the work and the rollout window, not the final range figures. The next checkpoint will be the official specs. They'll show whether the R4 and R5 pick up just a few token extra kilometres, or actually close in on the 440–450 km mark where Volkswagen Group currently reigns.
