The new Renault Twingo was a Chinese bargain

An old donkey cannot learn languages? Sometimes it can. And the old donkey in this story - with every respect… - is Renault, which, after 126 years of history, has learned Mandarin and is teaching Europe’s car industry a lesson in how quickly to adapt.

But let us take this step by step, because, as you have probably gathered, there is nothing foolish about Renault.

The central character here is the new Renault Twingo. This is not simply a likeable-looking model: it is the first Renault developed with one foot in China and the other in France. And the French brand did not stumble…

The evolution of Renault and the Twingo

I will not say any more about equines, do not worry. Staying with biology, though, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is relevant here, as it essentially argues that those unable to adapt die. I promise this will make sense…

Over recent years, the “environment” inhabited by European manufacturers has changed beyond recognition. Environmental and regulatory pressures, development costs and, above all, the pace of progress in China’s automotive industry have created a new ecosystem: more competitive, faster-moving and populated by new “species” - BYD, Geely, XPeng and others - that are better suited to electric cars.

Renault has understood that resilience alone is not enough; it must adapt, learn new tricks and do so quickly. Where? In Shanghai, the heart of China’s emerging automotive ecosystem. It is there that the ACDC - Advanced China Development Center, the French brand’s new research and development hub - was established.

ACDC: Renault’s development centre in Shanghai

This is not a call centre or an “exotic” design studio intended to look good on social media. In the words of Luca de Meo, the former CEO of the French group, it is “a laboratory for efficiency”, set up to develop cars three times faster and at half the cost.

A new milestone for Renault

The first product of this French genetic transformation is the new Twingo E-Tech, an electric car promised to cost under €20,000.

In this episode of Auto Rádio, José Pedro Neves, managing director of Renault Group Portugal, was keen to underline ACDC’s importance in the record-time development of this new model. It is worth revisiting that moment:

When we say record-breaking, we genuinely mean it. The new Renault Twingo was developed from start to finish in just 2 years - half the time it would have taken in Europe. How and why? We do not know… but Renault clearly does, having cut the development time for this electric car in half.

Along the way, it even found time to ask Volkswagen whether it wanted to join the project. The German marque said no - or perhaps it still has not made up its mind. We all know how long decisions can take in Europe.

Renault Twingo E-Tech battery technology

The new Renault Twingo E-Tech battery also uses a chemistry that is new to Renault but widespread among Chinese brands: LFP, or lithium iron phosphate. It has a lower energy density, but it is cheaper to manufacture. And, as we know, price is almost everything in a city car.

There are more than enough reasons, then, to justify this column’s title: the new Twingo was a Chinese bargain. Time - not much of it… - will show whether it becomes a successful bargain or not. The first examples will reach Portuguese roads at the end of the first half of 2026.