Ford and Renault have announced a momentous alliance to share electric-car platform technology, opening the door for a reborn Fiesta EV based on the Renault 5 E-Tech. The partnership will see the first of two new Ford electric cars reach showrooms in early 2028, Auto Express can reveal.
The deal, announced today (Tuesday 9 December), enables Ford to use the Renault Ampere electric-car architecture found on the Renault 4, R5 and Alpine A290, as well as the forthcoming Twingo urban EV. It would also allow Ford access to Renault’s battery and motor technology, granting the US brand much-needed scale in the European small-car segment.
The resulting models – a small hatchback to revive the Fiesta and a second small EV – will have unique bodies rather than be badge-engineered Renaults, plus bespoke chassis-tuning in a bid to deliver Ford’s engaging driving dynamics.
“We’re very confident that we can completely differentiate the [customer] offering,” Ford of Europe president Jim Baumbick told a media call with Auto Express. “Ford will lead on the development of the design and things like the ride, steering, handling and braking to inject the uniquely Ford DNA, to support our brand positioning.” He added that the differentiated designs had already been shared with key dealers and other stakeholders to get their buy-in.
Knowing plenty about the small Ampere platform gives us a good idea of what might power a future Fiesta EV. The Renault 5, for example, is offered with a choice of 40kWh and 52kWh batteries – the latter boosting range to a possible 252 miles on the WLTP test cycle. The bigger-battery car gets a more powerful 148bhp motor good for 0-62mph in less than eight seconds.
The deal is all about economies of scale and getting access to a competitive platform and its manufacturing base: the new Fiesta and its electric sibling will be assembled at Renault’s ‘ElectriCity’ complex in Northern France. It’s also about moving fast: Renault is proud of having set-up a Chinese centre to speed up its design and EV engineering process, developing the 2026 Twingo in under two years as a result. Ford will clearly benefit from this – the first vehicle will be on the market in 2028, a similar timeline to Twingo.
