Renault explores battery-electric vehicle production in Spain
This was confirmed by Renault CEO François Provost on Thursday, following the announcement of the company’s financial results for 2025. At the Palencia plant, north of Valladolid, the French manufacturer currently produces compact and mid-size models, though only as plug-in hybrids at present. Specifically, the Renault Austral, Espace, and Rafale are assembled there. The Renault Group opened the Spanish facility in 1978.Until now, Renault’s battery-electric vehicles have been produced within the ElectriCity production network, established in 2021. This network consolidates the northern French plants in Douai, Maubeuge, and Ruitz. Maubeuge serves as the competence centre for light commercial vehicles, such as the Renault Berlingo, while battery-electric passenger car models like the Renault 4, Renault 5, and Scenic E-Tech are produced in Douai. The Renault Twingo E-Tech, however, will be manufactured in Novo Mesto, Slovenia—meaning Renault’s exclusively French battery-electric vehicle production will soon no longer be the case.François Provost took over as CEO last year from long-serving Renault chief Luca de Meo and has since been realigning the group’s strategic direction. Provost has already scaled back the costly motorsport activities of the Alpine brand, which were expanded under de Meo, and plans to fully reintegrate the spun-off battery-electric vehicle division Ampere back into the group. In December, he halted Mobilize’s car-sharing operations and brought the previously independent unit, along with its remaining activities, back into the group.Changes also appear to be underway for the Flexis joint venture, which focuses on connected electric vans and was established in collaboration with the Volvo Group and logistics provider CMA CGM. Reports suggest Renault intends to take full control of the venture. Flexis was also founded during Luca de Meo’s tenure.It remains unclear which models Renault is considering for production at the Spanish plant. However, there is speculation about the next generation of compact battery-electric vehicles, which could hint at a successor to the Renault Mégane E-Tech. The current compact model, based on the AmpR Medium platform, is built in Douai. During its development, Renault chose not to leverage the spatial advantages of an electric platform to create more interior space within the same exterior dimensions. Instead, it designed a smaller and more manoeuvrable vehicle with comparable interior space to the combustion-engine Mégane—a decision that complemented the battery-electric Zoe city car at the time.With the expanding model range, however, the Mégane’s concept no longer fits seamlessly into the portfolio. The Renault 4, also built in Douai on the AmpR Small platform, is only a few centimetres shorter than the supposedly higher-positioned Mégane—and significantly more affordable. It is therefore possible that a Mégane successor and potentially a compact battery-electric SUV could be produced in Spain in the future. While this would mark a first for a battery-electric Mégane, the Mégane itself is no stranger to Palencia: since 1994, the Mégane series has been produced there as a combustion-engine model and later as a plug-in hybrid.reuters.com
