Renault 5: 84% of electric car’s UK buyers are new to the brand
Supermini has become most popular EV among private buyers, nudging Renault to second in sales chart
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by Felix Page
2 mins read
22 July 2025
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Some 84% of Renault 5 buyers are new to the brand, giving it one of the highest conquest rates of any model the brand has yet launched.
A recent Renault survey of around 1900 5 buyers in the UK revealed that roughly 1600 were switching out of a competitor product: 3.4% part-exchanged a Mini Cooper, 3.8% traded in a Ford Fiesta and 4.4% swapped out of a Fiat 500.
But while Renault UK managing director Adam Wood acknowledged that the most popular part-exchange models were similarly sized superminis, there is “really no trend” to who is buying the electric supermini.
“They’re coming from premium SUVs, small cars, all different brands. Some of them are second cars, some of them are primary cars,” he said, citing the car’s retro-futuristic design as a key factor in its appeal.
“The key thing with the 5 is that it comes back to that point of magic. People see the car and, I think whether they remember the original or not, it’s just a great piece of design that brings a smile to peoples’ faces.”
“Emotion is a big part of the buyer’s purchase too, and that’s why you see such a conquest rate on the 5.”
The 5 has been a roaring commercial success in its first few months on sale: some 2400 examples had been delivered in the UK to the end of June and it was the best-selling EV to private buyers in April and May – making Renault the country’s number-two retail EV brand, behind Tesla.
The 5 was instrumental in helping Renault grow its share of the UK car market to 3.7%, with registrations climbing 16% year-on-year in the first half of 2025 – in part because of a 17% hike in private car sales.
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Renault’s EV sales were up a huge 887% in the first half, with the 5 and Scenic having joined the Mégane in the last year, and Wood anticipates that the arrival of the 4 this autumn will drive further growth, based on the early success of the similarly conceived 5, which has “really has brought electric motoring to the masses in terms of affordability”.
Wood cited the 5’s £23k start price and potentially low running costs – assuming the ability to charge on an EV-specific domestic tariff – as giving a “very similar” total cost of ownership to a comparable ICE hatchback but suggested that the supermini’s success wasn’t entirely founded on its affordability.
“Accessible pricing is, of course, a factor. But I think often the industry forgets the emotional appeal too. So I think it’s that design and fun that is also attracting more and more private individuals who perhaps weren’t considering electric.
“In many ways, I think it’s like a Trojan Horse to get more people considering electric.”
