Renault will give the Mégane a radical 'hot hatch' facelift next year, in an effort to revive the EV’s stark downturn in sales.
The current Mégane launched in 2022 as one of the first of Renault's new-age electric cars.
While successful at first, after four years sales have dipped rapidly: down 67% (to 10,082) in the first half of 2025 compared with the year before.
This has coincided with the brand launching newer - and cheaper - EVs in the Renault 4 and 5 within the past year, in which time they have racked up more than three times the hatch’s sale.
Now, Renault CEO Fabrice Cambolive has confirmed the firm wants to reposition the Mégane as a “hot car”.
Speaking at the launch of the new Clio at the Munich motor show, he said: “Mégane E-Tech was our first, first, real EV since the beginning of ‘Renaulution’. It was launched at a moment where the EV [uptake] was not so high.
“Now, what we are looking for is to have a hot hatch or a hot car. That's the direction we want to go in.”
While he was coy on any technical specifics, Cambolive said the car will get a larger battery. This is likely to be the 91kWh pack used in the larger Scenic, in which the battery offers up to 379 miles of range – an increase of 87 miles over the most efficient current Mégane.
This need to refresh the hatch was backed by Renault Group design boss Laurens van den Acker, who admitted: “We need to sell more of it”.
To do that, he added: “We need to do something. If you put a new battery in the car, which is very expensive, and you don't change the car, then it's really hard-pressed to seduce people to pay more for it.
“So we needed to do justify to change underneath the skin by showing something on the skin. And then we thought that what the world was missing was kind of a hot-looking EV.
“And so we thought we had nothing to lose, so we'll just push that.”
Autocar understands the facelift will involve a new grille, fresh daytime running lights and a lower and wider stance, although van den Acker would not be drawn into specifics.
The new Megane will arrive in the middle of next year, likely holding a premium over the current car’s £32,495 starting price.
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If they're going to turn it into an aggressive mess it won't sell any better.
As an owner I think the current megane is a great- looking car. But in the current SUV obsessed world, it's proportions aren't fashionable. It's a shame as the car drives very nicely and the interior is a lovely silent place to sit. It's giving me 4mpkw pretty much all the time (the trip computer indicates higher and that's about the only complaint I've got with the car). Fortunately I bought a pre reg techno with a heat pump for R5 money, and viewed at those kind of prices, with 2p per mile running costs on overnight tariff, it's unbeatable value imo.