Renault launches conversion offer for Master with combustion engine

Renault has announced that TOLV has developed a retrofit kit for the Renault Master III, which includes an electric motor with 57 kW, an automatic transmission and a 52 kWh battery for a WLTP range of up to 200 kilometres. The Master should be able to charge with 22 kW AC. The warranty for the retrofit kit is two years with no mileage limit and four years or 150,000 kilometres for the traction battery. The price is 26,900 euros plus tax – whereby the national retrofit bonus available in France has already been deducted.

“Retrofitting is an economical alternative for professionals, as it is cheaper than buying a new vehicle, and also makes it possible to extend the life of the vehicle and thus reduce its overall ecological footprint,” writes Renault in an accompanying press release. The conversion cooperation between the major manufacturer and the start-up, which was only founded in 2018, is based on a joint strategic partnership. TOLV – then still known as Phoenix Mobility – had already presented its first retrofit kit for the Renault Trafic in 2022, the first instalment of which was delivered to businesses and public institutions last year.

Renault declared the circular economy to be a top priority some time ago and founded a subsidiary called The Future is Neutral in 2022. The new company aims to “become the European leader in the circular economy for motor vehicles by 2030”, as was stated at its launch almost two years ago. The Flins site is central to this. Among other things, The Future is Neutral plans to recondition electric motors there for secondary use. And from this year onwards, the site will achieve a production capacity of “more than 3,000 reconditioned components per year”. These components also include batteries.

Renault’s circular ecosystem is fundamentally based on the four strategic pillars of “re-trofit, re-energy, re-cycle and re-start.” This means that the French company not only looks at recycling in the narrower sense but also refurbishes and retrofits used cars, carries out battery analysis and repair and wants to promote the structural development of a circular economy.

By 2030, The Future is Neutral wants to lead the circular economy for motor vehicles in Europe with a turnover of more than 2.3 billion euros and a margin of more than ten per cent. To achieve this, the company does not have to start from scratch. There is already a network of Renault subsidiaries and partners involved in the collection and recycling of parts, materials and batteries from scrap cars, production rejects or workshops. Specifically, Renault mentions its subsidiaries Gaia, Indra and Boone Comenor as well as the aforementioned Refactory in Flins.

media.renault.com, tolv-systems.com (both in French)