Drivers after a cheaper EV with a pinch of nostalgia will soon be able to snap up an electrified version of the Renault Twingo.

Renault boss Fabrice Cambolive says the Twingo e-Tech will be sold in Britain and the retro-inspired sub £17,000 supermini EV has 'huge potential' here, he believes.

Like the new electric R4 and R5, the Twingo will be another 20th century inspired EV - this time bringing back the feel of the original 90s car in an updated electric form.

The R4 and R5 e-Tech have both been hailed for being brilliant and budget, starting at £22,995 and £27,000 respectively, but the Twingo will top both price tags as it is set to cost £16,800 (€20,000).

'Accessibility to EVs is critical for the future, and Twingo offers something new for Renault, and for all car buyers,' Cambolive said.

The news has yet to be given a definitive timeline but the Twingo's arrival was originally touted for 2026. Here's everything we know...

Why is the Twingo coming?

Cambolive said at the Financial Times Future of the Car Summit on 14 May: 'I put all my attention on the challenge to launch Twingo in right-hand drive, because I believe a car under 20,000 euro equivalent has huge potential in the UK as well as Europe, both for opening up the segment because of its design, technology and dynamics as with R5 and R4, but also because it brings a new level of versatility for the class that I believe customers will respond to.'

Confirmation of the Twingo puts Renault in a select class of sub-£20,000 EVs that are proving electric cars can be as cheap as combustion.

Currently only the £14,995 Dacia Spring – the cheapest new EV in the UK - and the £15,995 Leap Motor T03 come in under £20,000.

The new Fiat Panda EV starts just above at £20,995, as does the £22,715 Hyundai Inster and Renault's £22,995 R5.

However, VW is bringing its £17k ID.1 to the UK in 2027, while Dacia has announced another sub-£15k EV will arrive soon and China's BYD has said its Dolphin Surf EV will go on sale later this year.

At the Parisian concept launch in 2023 Renault Group chief executive Luca de Meo promised the next-generation Twingo will 'be a game changer once again like it was 30 years ago' and promises it to be a 'fit for purpose urban vehicle, state-of-the-art EV with no compromise'.

He also said that a newly-formed spin-off design team has been tasked with fast-tracking the concept car's development into a full-production car in just two years.

This is to match the progression of Chinese rivals he noted.

He also promised that the Twingo will also be around 20 per cent smaller than superminis that currently sit in the smallest passenger car segment.

The race to dominate the true budget end of the market and to make the chicest and cheapest supermini is on - and the Twingo very much puts Renault in contention for the crown.

A nod to the 90s Twingo – how the Twingo EV will take inspiration

At the moment all we've got to go on for what the Twingo will look like or what features it will have is the concept car which is loosely based on the first Mk1 Twingo.

Launched in 1992, the Twingo got its name from a mix of the dance styles twist, swing and tango.

Comparing the concept with the Mk1, it's clear to see that the semi-circular headlights have been carried over – although this time in LED-strip form – as have the rear lights and an updated version of the iconic upright rear window. 

The three air scoops on the bonnet lid are also nostalgic touches.

While these were originally used to cool the 1.0-1.2-litre engines of the original Twingo, in the concept they show the remaining battery level instead.

There are also circular recesses for the front door handles in a nod to the original, although the Twingo EV will be a five-door car unlike the three-door 90s version.

The original car was famed by French owners for its Tardis-like packaging, with a surprisingly spacious interior for compact, city-car dimensions. Hopefully the electric Twingo follows suit.

The interior has a similarly retro feel with a cylindrical-shaped dash, just with a modern digital driver display and landscape infotainment touchscreen.

Original sales success of the Twingo

The 1992 Mk1 Twingo was sold in Europe, but British drivers had to wait for the arrival of the second-generation in 2006 to get their hands on a right-hand drive version.

The Mk3 version also came to the UK in 2014 with the unique selling point of having its engine at the rear under the boot floor.

It wasn't a sales success though, with 2018 seeing just 877 examples sold to customers in Britain.

Bosses axed it from UK showrooms a year later.

However, if the fanfare surrounding the new R4 and R5 EVs is anything to go on the new Twingo EV will be shoo-in sales success.