‘Yes, we need to simplify more again’
With the Emblem, Renault is showing how it imagines the automotive future. The concept car is designed to produce 90 per cent less CO2 over its entire life cycle than a current model. Gilles Vidal is not only head of design at Renault (and as such the creator of the new Renault 4 and 5), but also one of the most important strategists for the French company, someone who is allowed and able to think outside the box. He is a very pleasant person to talk to, has a profound knowledge of automotive history, is a good storyteller – and he has clear ideas about how things will progress.
radical: Do the new electric platforms really enable new design approaches? Or are designers ‘trapped’ in the customers’ viewing habits?
Gilles Vidal: It’s always the same challenge: we have to create a design that customers like. That’s difficult, there will always be those who love it – and the others who don’t like it. But we already know who our target audience is. Our E-platforms now have excellent proportions, as can be seen from the new R5, for example. It is only 3.92 metres long, has very large wheels and very short overhangs, and therefore a long wheelbase. It all looks very harmonious, and the vehicle looks the same in series production as it did in the first drawings. You can now analyse all this scientifically or simply decide based on your gut feeling, but good proportions simply make a vehicle more attractive. Yes, e-platforms make it much easier for us, which can also be clearly seen in the e-Scenic. But there is also a very generous amount of space.
radical: Space, a good topic. Just a few years ago, we had the feeling that e-cars could offer much more space because, for example, they no longer have an engine that has to be included in the design.
Vidal: Take the all-electric Scenic, for example. It offers much more space than before, with comparable dimensions. Sure – the new R5 doesn’t offer an awful lot of space at the back, but still: for its size, it is very generously dimensioned inside, thanks to the e-platform. But of course you’re right – we are constantly discussing with our engineers what we can still improve, make smaller, the whole vehicle structure, materials. Cars have become bigger and heavier in recent years for safety reasons. But for the future, the goal must be to make things smaller, narrower, lighter, and therefore more efficient.
radical: There are always new, more stable yet lighter materials, even carbon is becoming cheaper and cheaper. Will this open up new design possibilities?
Vidal: Well, carbon now belongs to Alpine rather than Renault. But we have so many other possibilities, right down to the paintwork and the inside of the seats. But it has to affect all areas if, for example, we make a new seat cover out of recycled materials. Then it also has to be lighter – and at the same time fit into our concept of a circular economy. This holistic approach is even more important for electric vehicles, not least because weight plays a crucial role in range.
radical: With the purely electric R5, Renault is pursuing a retro design approach. Ora-Ito’s interesting R17 show car also plays with the past. Why?
Vidal: It’s clear – customers love it. We see that with the R17, for example. Many feel that this is a new concept car from Renault; people expect vehicles like this from us. But it was ‘just’ a project by the designer Ora Ïto, like some of our other art projects. But look at the R5 concept, the idea behind it. All those who wanted an electric car and were convinced by the technology from the outset now have one of these vehicles. The second wave after the ‘early adopters’ has also been taken care of. Now we are entering the most difficult phase. We now have to convince those people who previously didn’t want to buy an electric car of the benefits of electric mobility. That’s why we’re now taking an emotional approach – we want people to feel reminded of the good old days, to have a sense of freedom instead of range anxiety. We are convinced that young people will love the R5, but we also have to be able to convince their parents. And retro can help here, it evokes a feeling of something familiar.
radical: Designing small cars like the R4 or R5 is considered the biggest challenge. Anyone can make a sports car. Do you agree?
Vidal: For me, everything is a challenge – even a delivery van or a Kangoo. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the potential customer, know what they need and want, but also be innovative, because you can’t always do the same thing. Sports cars are of course a pleasure, but you also have to be clear about it: it’s easy to attract attention, but you can still do everything wrong. I enjoy working on the next Clio or the R5 more because the specifications are much stricter. If I were a stylist, I would want to make sports cars. But as a designer, these complicated objects are much more interesting to me.
radical: It seems as if light signatures are one of the key distinguishing features among the individual brands today. Isn’t that overrated?
Vidal: Of course it’s fashionable at the moment. But you also have to see where it comes from. The regulations and requirements made it necessary for us to deal more with light. By this I primarily mean the daytime running lights. And it is also the case that the light signature is the first thing you can recognise about a car from a distance. That’s why it’s an important design aspect. And there are definitely vehicles that look very good and are exciting. But yes, I also think that certain brands have overdone it, and that, as with all fashions, it will calm down again.
radical: At last we are seeing really strong colours again, at least that’s how the vehicles are being presented. But then customers would rather go for grey. Fiat has now banned certain models from being grey. Is Renault going to do the same?
Vidal: I think that the bolder colours will come back into fashion, especially for smaller vehicles. We will also have the corresponding colours for the R5, which is something of a pop star; some of them are quite daring. By the way, the most popular colour for cars is blue. There is also another aspect that is often forgotten in these colour discussions: We build different models in the same factory. We absolutely need grey for a Megane or a Scenic. So we will also offer grey for the R5, simply because it is already there anyway. On the other hand, we are limited when we want to introduce new colours.
radical: Let’s talk about interior design. Are these huge touchscreens a fashion? Is that going to change?
Vidal: You can look at it philosophically. For me, the question is: what exactly is happening on this screen, what is the content? If you can’t read it anyway because the font is too small or everything is much too complicated, then you really don’t need such large tablets. I’m told that’s what customers want, but I think it’s the wrong approach. It is much more important to define exactly how the vehicle and its occupants interact. Menus need to be simpler, with fewer submenus, and it has to be less complicated. Of course, it can also offer a bit of entertainment to make passengers smile, but the automotive industry is still in its infancy here. We still have a lot to learn. But there are also always new regulations. It seems to work like a machine that constantly produces new rules. There’s always a beeping sound now. That no longer makes sense because you no longer know why it’s beeping. Yes, we need to simplify more, and we’re working on that. We need to understand what is really needed.
radical: Will autonomous driving, if it ever becomes possible, change car design?
Vidal: It could, yes. Certainly in the interior. With level 4, it would already be possible for the steering wheel to somehow move away, for the car to become a lounge. And with fully autonomous vehicles, you could design the interior like the living room at home. But you can’t expect too much. It’s still a moving object that is subject to the laws of physics
radical: One last question: You have one last full tank of gas. Which car would you choose to drive and where?
Vidal: My father and my uncle used to race. I still remember rallies and hill climbs in Auvergne well. My favourite was always the Renault 5 Turbo, also because it made such a great noise. And yes, I would love to drive a turbo like that on these roads in Auvergne again.
This story is part of the Renault supplement in our print edition radical #2. You can find the table of contents here.
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