Renault's future designs 'will not conform to convention'

Renault will no longer launch cars that comply to conventional design criteria, according to its head of small cars, Benoit Bochard. “Cars that say ‘business as usual’ are no longer part of what we stand for,” he told Autocar at the Geneva motor show.

Buoyed by the style led success of the Renault Clio and Renault Captur, Bochard said that in future all Renaults would challenge accepted design directions. He cited the upcoming Renault Espace, which mixes crossover styling with MPV functionality, as an example, and hinted the next generation Renault Scenic, due to launch in two years, would follow a similar route.

“We don’t want to do designs that mimic our heritage, but we do want to build on the roots of what our past designs stood for – our heritage provokes many happy memories, and we want to use them to steer the direction we will head in,” he said.

Bochard dimissed the possibility of Renault reviving some of the brand’s iconic cars from its past, however, such as the Renault 5 and 8. “We are not interested in revival,” he said, “just using the memories to steer us.”