New Renault boss keen on keeping Megane as a possible crossover

With rumours of its axing having appearing sporadically over past month, a new report has allegedly claimed that Renault could well be keeping the Megane nameplate in spite of slowing sales and looming plant closures.

In spite of La Riege’s Head of Design, Laurens van den Acker, telling Britain’s Auto Express back in April that the Megane could be replaced by an electric vehicle of sorts, the marque new CEO, Luca de Meo, has expressed interest in keeping the Megane as one of Renault’s core C-segment vehicles.

According to Reuters, three unnamed sources have claimed that the former Seat boss’ desire to retain the Megane could result in it morphing into a crossover in a move similar to what PSA rivals Citroën have done with the new C4.

“There are a lot of discussions and it’s still evolving, but … things are clearly moving towards a crossover version (of the Megane). Luca de Meo wants to develop slightly different silhouettes to add value,” a source within Renault was quoted as saying.

Having confirmed availability of the coupe-styled Arkana in Europe from next year with Australia poised to follow, the re-positioning of the Megane, if the crossover plans are approved, could see it slotting-in below the former as a form of entry-level offering, although this remains to be confirmed.

The automaker, who was announced as the key marque in Europe earlier this year as part of its restructuring measures within the alliance that includes Nissan and Mitsubishi, previously indicated that it could axe a handful of models hamstrung by slow sales, namely the Talisman sedan, Scenic compact MPV and the Espace crossover as well as the Megane.

Already withdrawn from certain European markets and in the United Kingdom is the slow selling Koleos, while the Alaskan pick-up has been restricted to South America following the closing of the Barcelona plant where it was manufactured alongside the Nissan Navara and the discontinued Mercedes-Benz X-Class.

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