At the Internationale Automobil Ausstellung (IAA) 2021, Renault has introduced its Megane E-Tech Electric hatchback. It is inspired by the MORPHOZ concept car showcased by the French auto-maker in 2019. According to Renault, this vehicle is a culmination of its expertise spanning over a decade. The company has sold over 400,000 electric vehicles in Europe thus far.
Built on Renault"s CMF-EV platform, the Megane E-Tech Electric has a 4.2-meter length. This car has the thinnest battery height at 11 cm. The car will be available in two powertrains. The top model will deliver 215 horsepower whereas the base trim will max out at 130 horsepower.
#IAA21 | Welcome to the future with our all new Megane E-TECH 100% #electric:
— Renault Group (@renaultgroup) September 6, 2021
✔️"Made in ElectriCity" 🇫🇷
✔️Unique with an innovative design
✔️At the cutting edge of technology
✔️Sustainable
To know more: https://t.co/TCYUm0jIS8 pic.twitter.com/s7oBp5lv4P
The car-maker will let you choose between 40 kWh and 60 kWh battery packs. The smaller pack will offer a range of 300 km on a single charge. The 60 kWh pack will provide enough juice to go 470 km without a top-up. Of course, these test numbers don"t necessarily hold in the real world. Even if your Megane E-Tech Electric vehicle runs out of charge, you can replenish 300 km worth of charge in half an hour at 130 kW charging stations.
The car comes with a fancy OpenR infotainment system based on Google Automotive OS. The top model sports a 12-inch touchscreen while the base variant will settle for a 9-inch panel.
CNET reports that the Megane E-Tech Electric car comes with special access for rescue teams in the unfortunate event of a crash. Working in collaboration with French firefighters, Renault claims to have worked out a way to contain battery fire in mere five minutes. To put things in perspective, putting out EV battery fire takes several hours. Sometimes it may even take days as The Grand Tour host Richard Hammond"s electric supercar Rimac Concept One burned for days after the crash.