Although segment A currently accounts for less than 5% of the European market, drivers remain strongly attached to accessible, compact vehicles that suit urban lifestyles or serve as second cars. The real challenge lies in the offering: most manufacturers have withdrawn, faced with the complexity of balancing competitiveness, regulatory compliance, and customer expectations. Renault Group has chosen to see this as a major growth opportunity and to take on the challenge with Twingo E-Tech electric, drawing on the expertise of Ampere’s teams. 

Twingo E-Tech electric embodies a profound transformation, made possible by the rigorous and passionate commitment of the teams, accelerated development, and competitive production in Europe. These are the challenges Ampere’s teams have successfully met to deliver a modern urban electric vehicle, rich in customer value, at an affordable price. 

“More with less” : accelerating more afordable and sustainable electromobility 

To design an affordable and competitive electric city car, Renault Group had to completely rethink its design and industrialization methods. This organizational transformation, supported by strong technical choices and Ampere’s expertise, made it possible to achieve the goal of offering a vehicle for under €20,000. 

Thus, Twingo E-Tech electric features an LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery—a world first for Pouch-type cells. This architecture allows more cells to fit into the same space while reducing reliance on critical metals such as cobalt and nickel. This strategy is fully aligned with the Group’s decarbonization approach, aiming to deliver more sustainable and responsible electric vehicles without compromising safety or performance. 

The use of the LFP battery in Twingo E-Tech electric, combined with a “cell-to-pack” architecture, reduces battery costs by around 20%. This purchase advantage is complemented by lower running costs: Twingo E-Tech electric will achieve best-in-class energy efficiency thanks to extensive work on motor efficiency and aerodynamics, which helped limit battery size and weight. This makes it a direct competitor to combustion-engine vehicles in this category. 

“In commando mode” : development in just 21 months

Twingo E-Tech electric stands out as the fastest-developed model in Renault Group’s history. Designed and industrialized in less than one hundred weeks—twice as fast as previous electric models—while maintaining the latest quality standards, Twingo E-Tech electric demonstrates the Group’s ability to respond to the market’s accelerated transformation. 

To achieve this goal, Ampere, Renault Group’s entity dedicated to smart electric vehicles, led the project through three key stages in France, China, and Slovenia. 

The design phase of Twingo E-Tech electric began in France, at the Technocentre, leveraging the Group’s technological strengths and based on the AmpR Small platform, specifically developed for A- and B-segment electric vehicles and featuring a state-of-the-art electronic architecture. In this context, Ampere implemented a streamlined governance model focused on efficiency and fast decision-making. This approach enabled quicker milestone validation, reduced back-and-forth between functions, and ensured full integration into Renault’s electric strategy. 

The second stage was carried out with ACDC, Renault Group’s R&D center based in Shanghai. This entity accelerated the project through a simplified milestone process and the establishment of a “Control Tower” from the industrialization phase onward, bringing all stakeholders together around the project. 

ACDC relied on the local ecosystem and new industrial partners. This close interaction between teams facilitated a smooth transfer of best practices. Around one hundred experts contributed to the various phases of the project, alongside key suppliers such as Launch Design for the upper and visible parts of the vehicle, CATL for batteries, and Shanghai e-drive for the powertrain. Ampere provided the platform and developed all electronic systems, software and multimedia, as well as driver assistance features. These joint efforts shortened the usual design timelines and optimized costs without compromising quality. 

Finally, Twingo E-Tech electric is produced in a European Renault Group plant, ensuring quality and reliability. Thanks to this new approach, Renault moved from a traditional linear development process to a collaborative, cross-functional method, bringing all key functions together within a single team. This approach reduced lead times at every stage. Renault thus saved about one year on the design time of a comparable vehicle while cutting investment needs by 50%.