Megane E-TECH

Renault is shining a light on its brand-new all-electric compact Megane E-Tech, which boasted the best EV sales in France last month, with 25,000 vehicles sold in the last three months. That tallies up to a 100K/year run rate – could it outrun Telsa’s Model 3 this year?

Renault’s new 100%-electric Mégane E-Tech is the French company’s non-hedged bet it can convince drivers they’ve nothing to lose in swapping their traditional ICE rides for modern a EV – and gain considerable performance, cost, and flair advantages in the bargain. A day test driving the car on the roads of southern Spain suggests the company stands a good chance of winning that wager and setting some standards for European EV development as it does.

It really isn’t much fun being a non-German brand at a German motor show. While Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, and co. drew all the headlines with their enormous and elaborate display stands, poor Renault was tucked away in an easily missable corner of a much quieter hall of the Munich expo center.