Will the new Renault Twingo Electric Car Lease be your small city-car choice in 2026?

The small city-car choice in 2026 - The new Renault Twingo Electric Car Lease?

The UK Government experienced a tough few moments in the world of electrification last week (week beginning 3 November 2025).

At a time when the various stakeholders have been campaigning to the political powers to address certain aspects, especially the used-EV quandary, charging costs on the public network and charging infrastructure, the release of purported developments and updates for our market arose at quite a relevant time.

Unfortunately, the timing of these releases were perhaps the only positive aspects, with the Government essentially side-swiping our industry with the notion of a pay per mile approach to BEVs.

While we covered this in an earlier EV News release, suggesting that company car schemes and salary sacrifice schemes should manage this obligation as opposed to personal / retail customers, there was another more subtle release from the Government. The latest update was not one of investment or innovation but instead made reference to public charging, which could now be impacted by a new taxation scheme.

The public / rapid charging debate often focuses on the quantity, quality and the price of the session. In a nutshell, we need enough charge points (in popular destinations) which are accessible for charging and which are able to quickly and reliably allow for a charge.

With many more EVs hitting the roads, we need enough charging points to allow for this increase; service stations, supermarkets, tourist destinations and city-centres need to have sufficient resources to meet the growing demand of the new and used EV market in the UK. However, with the DC charging facilities on EVs improving, there needs to be a corresponding improvement with the connection.

For example, if your vehicle is capable of 250kW - 350kW DC, you would want to connect to a DC charger with 250kW+. You would not want to utilise a 50kW DC. Speed of charge and the underlying convenience of this process is integral to consumer confidence.

If EV drivers can be assured of a 10 - 15 minute charging experience, which tops-up the vehicle to an adequate level then we have a firm solution. Finally, the charging session you incur needs to be affordable and commensurate to the services it offers. While many of us can enjoy sub-10 pence per kWh charging at home, the public network is more around 75 - 85 pence per kWh.

With pressure groups asking the Government to remove VAT on the session or support the energy costs, the recent suggestions from Rachel Reeves are not welcome.

Business rates have so far not applied to EV charging bays but the Valuation Office Authority (VOA) are now considering removing the exemption. With the ability to backdate the charges, operators like Gridserve, Osprey and Source EV could be facing multi-million pound bills, which would ultimately be passed on to the EV drivers using their facilities.

With the VOA suggesting this measure could raise £25 million, the end result to those charging could be around £300 per year more. At a time when the momentum for zero-emissions needs to keep moving, these types of disincentives serve nothing more than a confusing political message, making potential drivers of battery vehicles concerned about the future of EV.

As mentioned in  The Telegraph taxation on the chargers could prove to be an “insurmountable” barrier to adoption, if the result is that rapid (DC) sessions become unaffordable to those drivers who need to regularly access them.

However, one stakeholder who doesn’t seem to be slowing down in the BEV race is the French car maker - Renault. With their pioneering Zoe coming to the end of its shelf life, the engineers have put together a replacement product which will offer an additional choice for those looking at the likes of the Dacia Spring, BYD Dolphin Surf and the Leapmotor T03.

The new Renault Twingo is looking to bring a smart and playful city-car to the UK leasing market. Small, yet practical, the electric Twingo will offer the same robust technological and connective features of the popular Renault 4 and 5 e-tech.

Some of the key features include the full-LED headlights, wide choice of interior, modular accessories, dual horizontal OpenR screens (7” and 10” respectively), Google built-in real time navigation, charge point location embedded in the vehicle, integrated apps like Waze, front / rear / side park assist, safe exit alert, hands-free parking, emergency lane correction, adaptive cruise control, Apple CarPlay and V2L bidirectional charging.

How does the small but mighty Twingo EV perform?

• A FWD car, this has a 27.5kWh usable lithium battery which will deliver 0 – 62 times of 12.1 seconds, 81 mph top speeds and 60 kW (or 80hp). Expect a combined winter range of 95 miles with warmer weather allowing for 135 miles - a combined 115 miles. On charging, the 6.6 kW AC max will allow 5 hours 0 – 100% charging times with the 50kW DC maximum allowing 30 minute 10 – 80% times. A cargo volume of 360L is available with this car. It has a vehicle fuel equivalent of 169 mpg. This EV will have Bidirectional charging via the V2L functionality but no heat pump. The EV cannot tow.

Want to know more about new or used electric vehicles?

Head to our dedicated Renault EV offers or speak to our experts directly on 01942 910 001 or by emailing us at [email protected]

Browse our Renault electric car lease special offers