Renault Estafette urban mobility concept revealed at Hannover
Mon, 16 Sept 2024
Renault has unveiled a distinctive small electric van concept by reviving a name from its past at the Hannover IAA Transportation Show.
The Renault Estafette concept has roughly the same footprint as a Renault Kangoo L2, but with a proposed payload of around one tonne and a walk-through cabin.
Its 2.4-metre height allows the driver to walk from the cab into the load bay to retrieve cargo and reduces the need to step out into traffic. It features electric sliding doors on both sides.
It has what Renault refers to as a ‘Tryptych Windscreen’, which wraps around the side of the front pillars, connecting to two strikingly ample windows forming a triptych.
From the outside, the inconspicuous frame helps to create a high-tech ‘helmet visor’ effect, hinting at the van’s advanced safety features.
It is based on the ‘FlexEVan’ electric commercial vehicle platform, which has been developed for Renault by its electric vehicles division, Ampere, with help from Flexis, a company jointly set up by Renault and Volvo to develop the next generation of electric commercial vehicles.
The Estafette Concept’s dashboard is divided into a 7-inch screen displaying dashboard information and a 12-inch screen towards the middle, facing the driver.
The base of the screen, the surface at the centre of the steering wheel and the area towards the door include a series of widgets providing one-tap access to the driver’s chosen favourite features. The multimedia system can run a variety of applications developed for specific trades using the vehicle, such as delivery route planning.
It uses what Ampere and Renault refer to as "SDV (Software-Defined Vehicle) architecture" with real-time software updates and ‘predictive maintenance’, where the van will flag up when it requires maintenance ahead of any problems developing.
Two 10-inch vertical screens at the end of the dashboard display the rear views from the outside cameras.
Towards the centre of the cab, a large plastic cylinder delivers a choice of open or closed storage modules, while the floor is completely flat allowing the driver to enter and exit from either side.
