How the Renault 5 became the electric car Britain REALLY wants to buy

Soulless. Overpriced. Unexciting. These are words you’ll commonly hear being used to describe electric cars, especially by the fraternity of red-blooded motorists who vow to never own one.

But there’s one EV that’s converting even the most devout petrolheads – the Renault 5.

In the nine months since the first electrified remakes of the iconic French 1970s and ’80s compact car rolled a tyre on UK tarmac, Britons have been falling head over heels. So much so, in fact, that thousands have gone out and bought one.

In a market where almost every EV is acquired via lease, salary sacrifice or company car schemes that effectively shield drivers from crippling depreciation, the majority of UK-registered Renault 5s are owned outright.

And, unlike almost every electric car before it, there’s even a waiting list of up to 12 weeks for some versions.

So, how has Renault managed to shift the EV ownership paradigm to capture the hearts – and wallets – of a nation of drivers that’s largely been reluctant to make the switch to electric cars?

An electric car people BUY

Just how popular is the Renault 5, you ask?

Almost 9,000 have been delivered from the Renault factory in Douai in northern France since last spring. 

Another 3,000 are currently on back order, with customers waiting for their personalised cars to be assembled before they cross the Channel.

While these are far from industry-busting sales numbers [the Tesla Model Y was last year’s best-selling EV with 24,298 registrations, for reference], it’s who is snapping up 5s that is the real eye opener.

The 3,000 cars on ‘factory order’ is the first indicator of its market defiance.

Factory orders are predominantly placed by private buyers; motorists who walk into a showroom, sit at a desk with a salesperson and choose the paint, trim style and specific options they want their cars to have before laying down a deposit direct from their bank accounts.

Factory orders are far less common for lease customers and company car schemes that have underpinned the EV sector until now. 

Motors for these clients are typically taken from existing stock so they can be supplied quickly.

Last year’s registrations data showed that seven in ten electric cars entering the road were swallowed up by fleets and businesses. 

But the Renault ‘Cinq’ turns that statistic on its head. 

Over three in five UK registrations are by private ‘retail’ customers in what is a watershed for battery-powered vehicles.

As such, the Renault 5 might just be the Trojan Horse the industry has been waiting for to silence the electric naysayers. 

In four of the last nine months, it was the most bought EV among private customers. 

In October, it was the best-selling electric car outright. 

And while Renault dealers have stock of cars in the most popular specs, the majority of 5 buyers want bespoke builds. 

For some of these factory orders, this can be subject to a wait time of up three months, such is the scale of demand.

With the 5 sitting alongside a jam-packed line-up of Renault electric models – consisting of the equally retro Renault 4 and Megane and Scenic E-Tech crossovers – the French firm recorded a 123 per cent increase in electric car sales last year to grasp its largest share of the new car market (2.3 per cent) in a generation.

This success comes at a pivotal moment as we accelerate towards the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars in just four years’ time, with manufacturers subject to adhering to rising EV sales targets between now and the end of the decade.

In fact, Renault – unlike so many of its legacy brand rivals – exceeded the Government-mandated EV sales quota for 2025, with 29 per cent of its registrations being electric (Zero Emission Vehicle mandate requirement was 28 per cent).

In January, Renault’s EV registrations were up again, 71 per cent year-on-year. 

That’s a remarkable feat, given EV sales across the board flatlined at just 0.5 per cent up year-on-year last month.

And with the smaller Twingo due to be added to its range later this year, Renault remains well on course to meet the ZEV target of 33 per cent electric for 2026.

‘The 5 has broken the mould for EVs and shown that car buyers will make the switch to electric motoring if the product is good enough and priced appropriately,’ Adam Woods, Renault UK’s managing direction tells us. 

‘It is proof that EVs can be exciting and joyful to own and is opening up EV ownership to more and more buyers, while spearheading the success of Renault’s range of award-winning electric cars.’

The first ‘affordable’ EV Britons want to own

There have been plenty of ‘affordable’ electric cars that have come before the 5.

And there certainly are plenty in showrooms today – namely the Dacia Spring, which from £14,995 undercuts almost every new car with a petrol engine.

But the Cinq is proving to be the first keenly priced EV Britons actually want – even those who might not be entirely convinced by electric cars just yet.

‘No other EV has sparked as much conversation or genuine affection as the Renault 5,’ explains founder of EV website Electrifying.com, Ginny Buckley, who has been running one for the last six months.

‘It’s a real crowd pleaser that cuts through age and gender, appealing to an unusually broad mix of buyers.’

The root of its success, Ginny believes, is Renault’s ingenious reimagination of a much-loved icon ‘without turning it into a pastiche’. 

This, she says, has been more influential to its popularity than the car’s battery range, performance and driving experience, which she describes as ‘solid, though not extraordinary’.

She told us: ‘The Renault 5 proves that even in the electric age, buyers still respond to an emotional connection with a car, and that’s something Renault has absolutely nailed.’

Claire Evans, consumer editor at motoring magazine What Car?, has also been running the retro electric Renault for six months alongside a host of the latest petrol and hybrid cars.

‘Its clever blend of retro and modern styling does a great job of appealing to older drivers like me, who owned one of the originals’, she explained. 

But Claire says there is more to the 5 than nostalgia alone.

‘It is the first EV that I’ve found as enjoyable as a decent petrol hatchback – like a Ford Fiesta – to drive around country lanes where I live.

‘During my time with the Renault 5, I was pleasantly surprised that the interior didn’t feel spartan or cheap, and the seats were comfortable enough for long drives, even a trip to Belgium. 

‘Although my car’s range of around 210 real-world miles was not as much as some rivals, it was enough for me to do my daily 90-mile commute twice between charges, and on that aforementioned drive through Europe, it was only the poor electric car charging infrastructure that gave me cause for concern.’

Our verdict from October 2024: The new Renault 5 EV has captured the real character and charisma of the original.

Price parity

Dan Caesar, chief executive of the Everything Electric brand, said the 5 is ‘pitched perfectly at petrolheads and ‘motorheads’ [the term for electric car fans] alike but believes its price point is where Renault has found the demand-stirring sweet spot, even in a market that’s being overrun by cheaper models emerging from East Asia.

‘The Renault 5 is arguably the best sub-£30,000 EV on the planet, and with the Government’s Electric Car Grant [ECG] you can get it for closer to £20,000 – that’s cheaper than most Chinese rivals,’ he explains.

The launch of Labour’s EV grant scheme in the summer saw the smaller battery 5 (40kWh offering 190 miles of claimed range) reduced by £1,500, cutting the entry price to £21,495. That’s almost parity with petrol equivalents from other brands. 

But it’s the more expensive 52kWh version – providing owners up to 250 miles of range (though, as Claire says, closer to 210 miles in the real world) – that private customers are almost always choosing.

With the larger battery produced at a new Envision gigafactory linked to the Douai car plant and therefore meeting the ECG’s most stringent sustainability targets, the longer range Renault 5 is, since December, subject to the full £3,750 discount, slashing it to £23,945.

This, importantly, drags monthly finance payments on a new Cinq to around £200 – a price point bound to appease eight in ten Britons who use finance to fund their car purchases.

But the sheer popularity of the Renault 5 – including its waiting list – has made striking a deal with a salesman an almost impossible task.

Pat Hoy, founder of Insider Car Deals – which mystery shops new car pricing – says dealers are largely refusing to budge on Renault 5 retail prices due to the high demand and existing discount provided by the government’s grant. 

‘They’re defending their position by saying that Renault isn’t allowing any discounts right now,’ Pat told us. That said, he reckons he can still wangle a £572 saving.

Even if buyers can’t negotiate a deal, they can at least be confident in the knowledge that the 5 won’t suffer quite the same alarming depreciation as the wider EV market.

While electric cars generally retain just 42 per cent of their new value after three years and 30,000 miles, the Renault 5 (based on the 52kWh versions) is projected to hold 47 per cent of its original price over the same period, Solera cap hpi says.

We think that’s a modest prediction. We’d be surprised to see value retention below 50 per cent, given the universal love for the R5.

Compare this to the Vauxhall Corsa Electric, which over a 36-month ownership spell holds only 30 per cent of its new price, and Renault 5 owners can look forward to far greater returns on their original investment.

Chris Plumb, head of current car valuations, said: ‘The Renault 5 just seems to hit the right notes with consumers; it’s got that retro styling that nods back to the original without feeling forced, and the heritage behind it gives it instant appeal. 

‘Combine that with a genuinely attractive price point compared to most EVs, and it’s clear why people are buying into it. 

‘It looks great, feels familiar, and doesn’t break the bank.’

And the 5’s success doesn’t just bode well for Renault.

With sister brand Alpine offering their souped up version – the A290 – and long-term partner Nissan also using the same platform for its new all-electric Micra, both manufacturers too will be hoping to welcome a flood of customers through showroom doors in 2026.