French connections
John Kendall takes a tour around the halls of Solutrans 2025
Compared with the IAA Hanover Show, Solutrans, staged in the French city of Lyon every two years, is a comparatively small commercial vehicle show. That said, since it is effectively the French national CV show, it has become a favourite with Renault for launching vehicles. Two years ago, it was the new Renault Master. This year, it was the turn of the new Renault Trafic E-Tech, the van that will ultimately replace the current Trafic range but, for the time being, will be Renault’s electric-only medium van, replacing current electric Trafic models.
As we have reported before, the new Trafic E-Tech will be the basis for three electric Renault models. In the prototype forms we have seen before, the other two models were known as Goelette and Estafette. At Solutrans, Renault announced that the Goelette, effectively a Trafic chassis-cab, will drop that name and be branded Trafic too. The Estafette, a van offering internal standing headroom and aimed at sectors such as parcel delivery or mobile shops, was also on display, but the Trafic chassis-cab and Estafette will follow later.
Despite the unveiling, customers still have some time to wait until new Trafic E-Tech is available in the UK. It is expected to reach showrooms in early 2027, over a year away.
Interestingly for a medium van, where gross weight is usually around 3,000kg, new Trafic E-Tech will offer a full 3,500kg GVW, usually reserved for large vans such as the Master. It makes sense when you consider that there will be chassis cab versions and the Estafette too, with the batteries pushing the need for higher gross weight to ensure that payload can be maintained. The van will also offer a 2,000kg towing capacity.
“Thanks to the software-defined vehicle, you will be able to use your company apps or tools or software directly by using the touchscreen”
Yannick Bignon LCV design project director, Renault
While on the Renault stand, Yannick Bignon, LCV design project director took us around the Trafic E-Tech electric display model. The new van will be fitted with front and rear bumpers constructed from recycled plastics. With sustainability one of the themes of the new model, Renault had a challenge. Black bumpers made from recycled plastics look just the same as black bumpers made from new plastic. “Recycled material has exactly the same appearance as the non-recycled material, so we have to design a specific graphic to illustrate that we’re using recycled material – and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” explained Bignon. “You can see here the specific grain that we have designed with a specific graphic to illustrate that we are using recycled material.”
As with most modern vehicles, the interior is dominated by a central touchscreen and a second screen in front of the driver carrying the instrumentation. Bearing in mind that building in right- and left-hand-drive means that controls and instrumentation have to be reversed when building a right-hand-drive model, Renault’s solution has been to mount the screens on a transverse tube running the width of the dashboard. The French brand has opted for a square screen for the centre of the dashboard and Bignon explained why. “Thanks to the software-defined vehicle, you will be able to use your company apps or tools or software directly by using the touchscreen. That’s why we have chosen this square shape of the screen – to be more ergonomic for daily work,” he said. “It is the only square screen that we will have on the full Renault line-up – dedicated to this vehicle. It’s also orientated towards the driver.”
As with the Master, Renault has paid particular attention to the aerodynamics. Bignon divulged that Renault can extend range by around 10% by having the right aerodynamic design. Aerodynamic elements are included in the rear lights, acting as a diffuser to break up air turbulence around the rear of the van.
Other notable features are the tight turning circle, said to be roughly the same as the Clio passenger car, making the shortest versions particularly manoeuvrable in tight spaces. Renault has also reduced the overall height to 1.9m to enable the new model to enter multi-storey car parks. Discussions with customers have led to the inclusion of a waist-level impact absorbing belt along the sides and rear of the vehicle.
“This new platform is produced to be able to host new technologies for the next 10 to 20 years, so we will make sure that it is predisposed to the fuel cell”
Alessandro de Rinaldis Head of product, Renault electric vans
Unlike Stellantis, Renault has yet to announce whether it will proceed with hydrogen fuel-cell powered models. We asked Alessandro de Rinaldis, head of product for Renault electric vans, if the fuel cell would be a likely power source for the new Trafic E-Tech.
“This new platform is produced to be able to host new technologies for the next 10 to 20 years, so we will make sure that it is predisposed to the fuel cell,” he explained.
Trafic has always used front-wheel drive, but, like some rivals, new Trafic will be rear-wheel-drive with the drive motor mounted at the rear. It will include vehicle-to-grid charging capabilities so it will be able to take power from a charge point or alternatively provide power to a house or building. The van will be offered with two battery sizes, offering a projected maximum range of either 280 miles (450km) or 373 miles (600km) and will be equipped with 800V architecture, enabling a charge from 15% to 80% capacity in a claimed 20 minutes.
Renault also plans to offer an electric power take-off (PTO) for powering tools and equipment, although this feature will not be available from launch, but is due to be available soon after. There are no plans for either hybrid or plug-in hybrid versions.
Currently there are no proposals to offer a passenger variant either, unlike the current model, but Renault says it will gauge demand for such a model. The company can build between five and 10 conversions at its Sandouville plant, where the van will be built. Others will be offered by local converters. Unlike the current Trafic, there are no plans to offer a Nissan variant of the Trafic E-Tech.
Apart from the new electric models, the Solutrans Renault stand included variants of the entire Renault light CV range, including a van version of the new, electric Renault 4. This model was announced in September, but Renault is still considering whether to offer it in the UK. With the Dacia Spring Cargo already available in the Renault Group, the company might consider that it has the car-derived van sector covered already.
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Kia
Away from the Renault stand at Solutrans, the other big news was the unveiling of the Kia PV5 chassis cab. The PV5 will be on sale in the UK in February 2026 in both passenger and cargo variants and the chassis cab will offer payloads up to 1,005kg and up to 8.0m3 of load volume. Kia claims that this matches the capabilities of larger vans while keeping its compact dimensions and a 5.5m turning circle. Conversions are expected to include dropside, tipper, box and refrigerated variants.
Two battery options will be offered – 51.5kWh and 71.2kWh – which are due to arrive in 2026. Charging at up to 150kW should enable a recharge from 10 to 80% in around 30 minutes. Kia will offer 22kW three-phase AC charging later.
Kia also introduced the Kia Business Solutions Ecosystem at Solutrans. The company claims that this will integrate connectivity and charging services into a single portal for B2B fleet management. The system combines Kia and other branded services designed to meet a range of B2B needs.
“The PV5 will be on sale in the UK in February 2026 in both passenger and cargo variants and the chassis cab”
