The new all-electric Renault Trafic E-Tech has been unveiled in production form at the IAA Transportation show in Hannover, and taken the much-coveted International Van of the Year award.
The Award is Renault’s sixth International Van of the Year and the brand’s third in five years, the Kangoo jointly winning with the mechanically identical Mercedes-Benz Citan in 2022 and the Master taking the title in 2024.
The Trafic E-Tech is the first model to reach production in Renault’s new all-electric van line-up, which was unveiled at the 2025 Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham – it will later be joined by the more targeted Goelette and Estafette, aimed respectively at conversion specialists and ‘last-mile’ operators.
While building on the long-established and respected Trafic badge that dates back to 1980, the new E-Tech shares nothing with the current Trafic diesel. Dubbed by its makers as the first ‘software defined’ light-commercial vehicle in Europe, Renault LCV product head Frederic Clermont described it as a “true game-changer for the European market, bringing a whole new range of services and technologies to make the customer’s daily life easier, without any compromises.”
According to Renault the Trafic E-Tech has been designed based on three pillars; cutting costs, improving working conditions for the user and providing an upgradeable and customisable vehicle.
With a maximum range of 291 miles, stretching to 428 miles in urban driving, Renault believes the new vehicle will be equally suited to daily operators and those requiring longer distances from their vehicles. The 800V architecture will allow charging speeds that recover more than 170 miles of range in 20 minutes, contributing to the Renault claim that the E-Tech will reduce total cost of ownership by 10% compared to an equivalent diesel van.
Driver comfort will be aided by the van’s ‘skateboard style’ bespoke electric platform that allows a low loading height of 53cm and a 10.8-metre turning circle. According to Clermont this produces a car-like driving experience, “the agility of a Renault Clio,” and making the Trafic particularly easy to use in urban environment with tight parking spaces. The van’s overall low height of 1.9 metres will also allow the vehicle to fit into all underground car parks, while the driver’s working environment is more akin to a car than an LCV.
The software-defined technology allows the van’s functions to be controlled, analysed and enhanced quickly and reliably from a central source. This will also be able to upgrade the functions over the van’s entire life cycle – in similar fashion to a smartphone.
In standard form the Trafic E-Tech offers a 5.8m3 load volume which will accommodate three Euro pallets, with 1.3-tonne payload limit and a two-tonne towing capacity. The vehicle is expected on UK sale by the middle of 2027 in van and chassis cab variants, with a crew cab joining the range later in the year.
Also on show was a cargo version of the new Twingo city car, which Renault has created for French energy provider EDF. The conversion takes the usual route of replacing the car’s rear seats with a load bay and dark-tinting the rear windows to conceal the cargo from view. There was no indication as to whether a Twingo Cargo might be offered on the UK market in future.
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