One of longest reigning car models in Europe has drawn its last breath according to reports this week, with the Renault Megane being withdrawn from production.

But all is not completely lost for the classic marque, with an all-electric model, the Megane E-Tech EV set to continue the bloodline. The demise of the ICE Megane has long been mooted, with Renault executives admitting last year that there would be high-profile casualties as the French company switched their focus to electric battery platforms.

“Inevitably, once we’re starting to add a range of EVs to our line-up, some of the other vehicles are going to have to go because we just can’t afford to develop all of this at the same time,” Renault’s design chief Laurens van den Acker said in April 2021.

“The Megane is in a segment that’s increasingly under pressure. You have to put your money where the future of the market is.”

The Megane had been in production for 27 years and spawned four generations, enjoying a peak sales performance of 465,778 models in 2004 according to published data. Pitched in the same market as the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf, its recent performance had slumped dramatically and they only shifted 793 units in the UK in 2021, compared to 21,800 for the Focus and 30,200 for the Golf.

According to the launch press release for the Megane’s electric successor, the ‘E-Tech is the first of a new generation of electric vehicles built on the advanced CMF-EV platform, styled within the brand’s ‘sensual tech’ design language and the first model to wear the new ‘Nouvel’R’ logo. With an electric driving range of up to 280 miles (WLTP), the All-New Mégane E-Tech also features a class-leading digital experience with a 12.3-inch dashboard display, 9-inch multimedia display, and Android Automotive OS with integrated Google services.’

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