Renault Twingo electric-car concept unveiled with budget price, in showrooms 2026

The pint-sized Renault Twingo city hatch is due to be rebooted as an electric car priced from €20,000 ($AU33,000) to battle a wave of cut-price Chinese competitors.

The Twingo has never been sold in Australia but it has been Renault's smallest passenger vehicle in Europe since the original model – known for its distinctive smiley-face styling – launched in 1993.

Now the French car maker has unveiled a concept for a new electric Twingo – with cute styling designed to evoke the original – which is due to enter production in 2026, it said in a presentation to investors and media overnight.

It is planned to be manufactured in Europe, and cost less than €20,000 ($AU33,000) – which would make it one of Europe's cheapest electric vehicles, undercutting Chinese-made circa-€25,000 ($AU42,000) electric cars from MG and BYD.

The Twingo will be positioned below the upcoming electric reboot of the Renault 5, which is due to be unveiled in its final guise at the Geneva motor show early next year, with up to 400km of claimed driving range, and an estimated €25,000 ($AU42,000) price.

Plans for an Australian launch for the electric Twingo are yet to be announced. The Renault 5 is on the company's wish list for a local launch.

The most recent Renault Twingo – introduced in 2014, and available in petrol and electric guises – is based on the underpinnings of the Smart ForTwo, and at 3590mm long is about half a metre shorter than a VW Polo or Toyota Yaris.

According to Renault CEO Luca de Meo, the electric Twingo uses half of the materials needed to build an "average" European small SUV – and occupies 20 per cent less space on the road than the "average" car in Europe.

"We will develop it in the record time of two years, from concept freeze [signing off the final design] to start of production, matching the speed of the Chinese [car makers]," Mr de Meo told investors and media overnight.

The company claims the vehicle will consume 10kWh of electricity per 100km – compared to about 12 to 13kWh/100km for the most efficient electric city cars today – though it has not disclosed driving range.

Renault also aims for the Twingo to emit "75 per cent CO2 emissions [compared to an average] European ICE [petrol] car over its lifecycle".

At an event for media and investors overnight, Renault announced two new architectures for electric-cars – AmpR Small for Renault 5-sized city hatchbacks, and AmpR Medium for Megane-sized cars – which are promised to reduce costs by up to 40 per cent compared to existing underpinnings.

It is unclear if the Twingo – dubbed the "Legend" in the company's new-model plan (above, second image) – will use one of these platforms, or will opt for bespoke, cut-price underpinnings.

Renault says it plans to sell seven electric vehicles in Europe by 2031: the Twingo, Renault 5, an electric reboot of the Renault 4 from the 1960s, the next generation of the Megane and Scenic E-Tech hatchback-styled-SUVs due in 2027 or 2028, and two additional vehicles.