Renault unveils a trio of electric vans with retro names

With the latest government guidelines giving companies licence to sell combustion-engined vans until 2035, there’s a whole decade before van manufacturers need to make the switch. But Renault is getting a headstart with a trio of new electric vans.

Named the Trafic, the Estafette and the Goelette, these new vans are part of a joint venture called Flexis – a partnership between Renault, the Volvo Group and CMA CGM – a French logistics company.

Renault Trafic, Estafette and Goelette – design

The Trafic is a current nameplate reimagined for this all-electric vehicle. It’s the traditional mid-sized panel van, and will be sold alongside the combustion-engined Trafic still based on its existing platform.

The Goelette is essentially the Trafic’s chassis cab model – it’s the same from the doors forward, but has reinforced axles and a load capacity of up to four tonnes, allowing converters or even Renault itself to add on a variety of bodies. The Goelette van was launched in 1956, and was a compact van aimed at self-employed people or small businesses.

The Estafette is the largest of the three vehicles – a lofty 2.6m high, which allows a 1.9m tall person to stand upright in the rear. With a rear roller shutter and rail-suspended side sliding doors, the Estafette is aimed at delivery drivers.

All three vans get a similar face. There’s a front light strip with backlit logo, with discreet headlights set lower. The windscreen and side windows form a distinct ‘visor’ effect, and the bodywork uses black panels as both a stylish and practical addition – they’re placed on the corners and edges, places that might be at the mercy of inconsiderate city drivers.

Inside, there’s a tube-shaped dashboard running the full width of the cabin, and there’s a 10.0-inch digital instrument cluster plus a 12.0-inch infotainment display. The seats are upholstered in grey and blue-jean fabric, and there’s plenty of switchgear that you’ll recognise from Renault’s recent passenger cars.

New Renault vans – batteries, motors and charging

All three vans sit on a ‘skateboard’ platform, with a flat battery underslung and a rear-mounted electric motor. Overhangs have been minimised to optimise the load capacity.

Renault hasn’t revealed what motors power the vans, but has said there will be two battery options, with capacities of 60kWh or 81kWh. The larger of the two promises a range of up to 279 miles in the Trafic – presumably lower in the heavier, less aerodynamic Goelette or Estafette. The 60kWh unit has a range of 217 miles.

Both are capable of charging super-fast thanks to their 800-volt architecture – usually the reserve of high-tech electric passenger cars. Renault hasn’t said a maximum charge rate in kW, but has said that the batteries can be charged from 15-80% in less than 20 minutes.

All three vans will also have Vehicle-to-Load capacity – the ability to plug in external devices such as tools or computers, as well as the capacity for bodybuilders to use the vehicle’s traction battery to run items such as fridges.

With a bidirectional charger the vans are also capable of Vehicle-to-Grid functionality, allowing them to sell energy back to the National Grid at times of high demand.

Renault electric vans – software

Renault calls these three ‘SDVs’ or ‘Software-Defined Vehicles’. Part of that is user-facing – the infotainment system is the same Google-based system you’ll find in Renault’s passenger cars, but it can be adapted so that large companies are able to integrate their own functions with the operating system. This could be courier companies adding in software for their drivers’ route-planning, for example, or controls for a refrigerated van being integrated into the software and controlled with a predictive approach based on outside temperature and the vehicle’s energy consumption.

The underlying EV gubbins will all be very high-tech too – over-the-air software updates keep everything current, and can be used for things like predictive maintenance to minimise fleet downtime.

New Renault Trafic, Estafette and Goelette – when can I buy one?

A release date hasn’t been revealed just yet, but production will start in Renault’s plant in Sandouville, France – the same plant that builds the combustion-engined Trafic – in 2026.

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