Hoping to start a new revolution in cheap electric transport, the Renault Twingo E-Tech has been revealed with a starting price of just €20,000 (A$35,600) in Europe.

Using a 27.5kWh battery for a claimed 263km of WLTP range and a 60kW electric motor, the Twingo E-Tech is a small EV that Renault says is perfect for the city. It’s as yet unconfirmed for the Australian market.

Closely resembling the original 1992 Twingo – which was never sold in Australia – the Renault Twingo E-Tech is cute and characterful to look at with its circular lighting units, wheels up to 18-inches in size and tiny overhangs. It uses the same ‘AmpR Small’ platform as the larger Renault 5 hatchback, though it’s lighter and more compact.

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On the inside, the Twingo E-Tech features unique design elements such as the customisable lipstick gear selector, Twingo logo in the dashboard fascia and lashings of colour dotted around the cabin. A 10-inch touchscreen sits in the dashboard with inbuilt Google tech on top-spec models, while a 7.0-inch digital display sits in front of the driver.

Measuring just 3790mm long, 1720mm wide, 1491mm tall and riding on a long 2493mm long wheelbase, the Twingo E-Tech is only 195mm longer than a Kia Picanto, but its packaging is a highlight. The rear seat slides fore and aft by 170mm for extra bootspace or rear passenger legroom, and the boot can be as small as 205 litres or as large as 360 litres, which opens up to 1000 litres with the seats folded. There is also extra storage underneath the boot floor, and the front passenger seat folds flat to help fit longer items.

In a first for Renault, the Twingo E-Tech uses a lithium-iron-phosphate chemistry battery, which is less expensive to produce than the more common nickel-manganese-cobalt chemistry. The Twingo E-Tech’s battery is sourced from Chinese manufacturer CATL and totals 27.5kWh in capacity, which is enough to give the car 262km of range (WLTP). It can be AC charged up to 11kW or DC fast charged up to 50kW, with a claimed 10-80 per cent charge time of around 30 minutes.

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The Twingo E-Tech puts energy to the road through a front-mounted electric motor making 60kW of power and 175Nm of torque, which is enough to send the 1200kg Twingo E-Tech to 60km/h in a quick 3.75 seconds, and on to 100km/h in 12.1 seconds.

Renault’s local arm has previously said that it will launch eight new or updated models in 2026. The Twingo E-Tech could be one of those eight.