Renault ute 95% production ready

Renault's first one-tonne ute will look almost identical to the Alaskan dual-cab concept revealed last week when it arrives in Australia in 2017.

Speaking to motoring.com.au during a preview of the concept at Renault's Technocentre in Paris today, design director Louis Morasse said the tough-looking Alaskan show car was "95 per cent" production-ready.

Based on Nissan's new NP300 Navara, the Alaskan wears a new front-end design including its bonnet, front quarter panels, bumper and grille – featuring a prominent Renault badge – plus a rounder tailgate skin, headlights and tail-lights.

Morasse said all of those elements will reach production, but "specific show truck accessories" like the retractable roof-mounted satellite dish, tray storage boxes and lighting, bed-liner tripod rails, huge 21-inch alloy wheels, fancy door-handles, wing mirror-mounted cameras and satin-grey matt paint would not.

"We defined with Nissan the level of differentiation we needed. We could have done anything from a badge to a complete car. So we have the complete front-end and also part of the rear-end. This was fixed before the project started," said Morasse.

"The differentiation is important to make sure that we have a good global matrix. We really want to protect the two brands if the two brands are on the same market with the same car, so we need a lot of differentiation.

"Globally, the idea is to protect the brands, especially where the car is in the same market."

The concept car on display – which won't appear at next week's Frankfurt motor show, where Renault's limelight will be firmly trained on next year's new Megane and the not-for-Oz Talisman – was the same vehicle presented by Renault Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in Paris last week.

The one-off mock-up had no engine and a standard Navara interior could be seen through its heavily tinted windows. It was the same vehicle that appeared in last week's computer-generated teaser video shot in Iceland, after it was super-imposed over the Navara that was actually filmed.

So far Renault has not revealed the Alaskan's interior. Asked if he thought Renault needed its own interior to further differentiate the Alaskan from the Navara -- and if he would like to create a new cabin for the new Renault ute -- Morasse said: "Of course. I'm a designer."

Morasse said no further concept version will be revealed and that Renault will reveal the road-ready Alaskan "eight months from now" – so next May -- before production commences in Spain and Mexico in the second half of next year.

The French car-maker has said further production sites will be added and Morasse said the Alaskan could in theory be produced anywhere Nissan builds the NP300 Navara.

Asked if Thailand would become the Alaskan's production hub for Asian markets including Australia, Morasse said: "That's a good idea".

Just as the Alaskan is the product of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, a third pick-up will be produced from the same platform for Mercedes-Benz by 2017, as part of a Daimler partnership that has previously produced the Renault Twingo-based smart fortwo, and will also lead to the A-Class based Infiniti Q30 and QX30.

Renault has said it will produce a wide array of body styles tailored for each market, and it's odds-on that – like the Navara -- entry-level trade-oriented single-cab and extended-cab will be offered alongside the more premium 'lifestyle' dual-cab 4x4 version you see here.

As indicated by the '190dCi-badged concept, premium versions will be powered by the same (190hp) 140kW/450Nm 2.3-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine as the Navara, which should also donate its six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic transmissions.

Naturally, the rest of the NP300's mechanical package also carries over, including coil springs at all four corners (as opposed to the rear leaf springs in most utes). A benchmark 3500kg towing capacity is also likely.

Confirmed specifications are scarce, but Renault has promised best-in-class fuel economy and a payload of more than one tonne.

Morasse said the Alaskan name -- which is almost certain to carry over to the production version – was designed to reflect the vehicle's go-anywhere nature.

"Everybody who wants to drive a pick-up is dreaming about the US, the Grand Canyon, Arizona… The name needed a strong connection with the grand escape. It’s a great name,” he said, despite the fact it won't be sold in Alaska or North America.

Renault Australia managing director Justin Hocevar said there was no confirmation of where and when the Alaskan will be produced for Australia, but said Thailand production would allow his company to take advantage of Australia's free-trade agreement with that nation.

Renault Australia was part of the project as long as two years ago, when it provided data and feedback from a local market perspective, and Hocevar last week told motoring.com.au the vehicle presented "a great opportunity" for the French brand Down Under.

While the lucrative light commercial vehicle sector accounts for almost 20 per cent of Australia's million-unit new-vehicle market annually, the booming mid-size pick-up market accounts for five million sales globally.

The Alaskan is therefore expected to be a strong addition to Renault's commercial van range, which has helped it remain Europe’s top LCV brand for the past 17 years.

"The pick-up market represents something like 40 per cent of the total and we were not in that market," said Morasse.

"We are the leader in LCV in Europe for 17 years now and we also wanted to become a global leader so this is one very important piece of the puzzle to go outside Europe."