What's the news?
Renault, which says it had its best year ever in 2018 for van sales, is rolling out a renewal of its core Master and Trafic ranges, as well as looking to the future with an electric Kangoo concept and the EZ-Pro concept we saw last week.
"2018 was the best year ever for the Light Commercial Vehicles business in terms of sales, with 34 per cent growth compared to the previous year. In 2019, we will continue the renewal of our line-up to meet the expectations of our customers. Thanks to Renault Pro+ development and our connected services offer, we will keep on developing accurate and innovative solutions to support our professional clients' business development" said Denis Le Vot, Alliance SVP, Renault-Nissan LCV Business Unit.
For 2019, Renault is trying to expand on the record van numbers it posted last year. In 2017 it set up a new joint venture in China, RBJAC (Renault Brilliance Jinbei Automotive Company) which plans to launch seven new van models, three of them fully electric, by 2022. As well as that, production in France is being expanded, with the new Nissan NV250 van set to be built alongside the Kangoo at the Renault factory in Maubeuge.
Of the existing lineup, the big Master van gets a new front-end design, which is rather more striking than it used to be. There's a new interior, with a revised dashboard, new instruments, and more robust seat upholstery. There are also new 'Easy Life' options including a folding tray and a big 10.5-litre storage drawer. Wireless smartphone charging is also on the menu.
There are new driver assistance systems too, including a digital screen rear view mirror, that uses a wide-angle rear facing camera, side wind steering assist, front parking assist, blind spot warning, and autonomous emergency braking.
The 2.3-litre dCi diesel engine has also been updated. It now meets the new Euro6D-Temp emissions standard, and has as much as 400Nm of torque.
Much more significantly, there's also now an all-electric Master, with a claimed 120km 'real-world' driving range and a 33kWh battery that can be fully charged in six hours. You can have it in a choice of three load-lengths and two heights. It uses the same 57kW electric motor as the Zoe hatchback and the existing Kangoo ZE.
The Trafic van gets very similar visual exterior changes, with a big new grille and sharper-looking lights, plus similar updates to the interior. There's also a new R-Link touchscreen system, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, and a new range of 2.0-litre diesel engines (which also meet the Euro6D-Temp emissions standard) with power outputs between 120hp and 170hp. On the safety front the Trafic gets new LED headlights, a wide-angle mirror in the passenger sun visor that doubles as an extra blind spot mirror, front and rear parking sensors with camera, and trailer swing assist.
There's also a Trafic Passenger, with seats for as many as nine people (including four ISOFIX child seat points) and a Trafic SpaceClass, which is a luxury mobile office, or comfy airport shuttle, with seats for up to six in the back and a leather-swathed interior.
Finally, there's the Kangoo ZE concept, an early look at what the new Kangoo van will look like when it arrives in 2020, as well as a peep at the future of Renault's electric van plans. It gets a rather cool fully transparent grille at the front, with very narrow, piercing lights. There's also a luminous, reflective line that runs all the way around the bodywork which is there to emphasise the Kangoo's electric nature.
No word on performance nor range, as yet, but Renault does say that the Kangoo's body has been "designed like that of a passenger car, with sculpted sides, rounded shoulders and pronounced wheel arches."