Renault will give the Megane a radical “hot hatch” facelift next year, in an effort to revive the EV’s stark downturn in sales.
The current Megane launched in 2022 as one of the first of Renault new-age electric cars.
While successful at first, after four years sales have dipped rapidly: down 67% (to 10,082) in the first half of 2025 compared to the year before.
This has coincided with the brand launching newer - and cheaper - EVs in the Renault 4 and 5 within the past year, which have racked up more than three times the hatch’s sale.
Now, Renault CEO Fabrice Cambolive has confirmed they want to reposition the Megane as a “hot car”.
Speaking at the launch of the new Clio at the Munich motor show, he said: “Megane E-Tech was our first, first, real EV car since the beginning of ‘Renaulution’. It was launched at a moment where the EV [uptake] was not so high.
“Now, what we are looking for is to have a hot hatch or a hot car. That's the direction we want to go in.”
While he was coy on any technical specifics, Cambolive said the car will get a larger battery – and this is likely to be the 91kWh pack used in the larger Scenic. In that car, it offers up to 379 miles of range, up 87 miles on the most efficient current Megane.
This need to refresh the hatch was backed by Renault Group design boss Laurens van den Acker, who admitted “we need to sell more of it”.
To do that, he added: “We need to do something. If you put a new battery in the car, which is very expensive, and you don't change the car, then it's really hard pressed to seduce people to pay more or anything for it.
“So we needed to do justify to change underneath the skin by showing something on the skin. And then we thought that what the world was missing was kind of a hot-looking EV.
“And so we thought we had nothing to lose, so we'll just push that.”
Autocar understands the facelift will involve a new grille, fresh daytime running lights and a lower and wider stance, although van den Acker would not be drawn into specifics.
The new Megane will arrive in the middle of next year, likely holding a premium over the current car’s £32,495 starting price.
Join the debate
Add your comment