Renault has released the first teaser image of an upcoming concept car which it says will be powered by hydrogen and hint at an evolving design language for the company.
The shadowy image gives a head-on view of the concept with slim front headlights, tall daytime-running lights and proportions suggesting, perhaps, an SUV or at least a vehicle bigger than the upcoming Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric.
It's hard to tell a whole lot more about the overall look of the concept which Renault said will be revealed in full in May.
Hydrogen combustion
Interestingly, Renault says that the concept will be equipped with a "hydrogen engine" perhaps implying the fitment of a hydrogen combustion engine. Unlike hydrogen fuel cells which use hydrogen to create electricity to power a car (as found in the Toyota Mirai, for example), a hydrogen combustion engine works largely along the same principles as an old-fashioned internal combustion engine, using hydrogen as fuel much like in a petrol car.
It's an area in which Toyota has been investing in recent times, firstly by running a hydrogen-powered Corolla Sport in the Super Taikyu endurance racing series in Japan, secondly by releasing a hydrogen-engined concept version of the GR Yaris, and thirdly by collaborating with Yamaha to create a 5.0-litre V8 which has been converted to run on hydrogen.
Renault's announcement of a hydrogen engine in the upcoming concept car may indicate that the company also sees hydrogen combustion as a way towards achieving its emissions reduction targets. It has also said, however, that intends to go fully electric by 2030, so if or when a hydrogen combustion engine could make it into production Renault models remains to be seen.
What is more certain is the fact that May's concept reveal will provide a preview of a specific upcoming model from Renault.
According to the company's CEO, Luca de Meo: "This concept will announce a future product. When we do concepts at Renault, we want to turn them into real cars."
Return to profitability
The announcement of the concept came as the company revealed its financial performance for 2021 and its outlook for the year ahead. After two years, Renault returned to profitability in 2021 after two years of losses caused by the Coronavirus pandemic and the global chip shortage. It reported a net profit of €818.7 million for 2021, a figure it believes it will improve on in 2022.
De Meo said that following a cost-cutting programme, the firm is now back on track to deliver 27 new models by the end of 2025.
2022 will see the launch of the Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric and Austral SUV. Beyond that, there are a number of potentially interesting models which have already gotten the green light including a new Scenic MPV and Alpine crossover based on the same CMF-EV platform as the Mégane E-Tech. So too will there be the new Renault 5, a reborn electric Renault 4 and a second generation of the battery-electric Dacia Spring among a plethora of others from across the Renault Group.
"Our real goal," he said, "is the competitiveness of our future line-up. I'm very confident on what we're doing with engineering and design, so all the projects look very, very good. We're building the best product line-up that Renault has had in the past several decades, at least."