By Gilles Guillaume MUNICH (Reuters) -Renault unveiled the sixth generation of its popular Clio hatchback on Monday at the Munich car show, its biggest overhaul in 13 years. The car remains a big-volume seller for the French automaker, but faces rising competition from Chinese automakers as they expand into Europe. With nearly 17 million units […]
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Renault aims to retain edge with sleeker Clio 6 at Munich car show
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By Gilles Guillaume
MUNICH (Reuters) -Renault unveiled the sixth generation of its popular Clio hatchback on Monday at the Munich car show, its biggest overhaul in 13 years.
The car remains a big-volume seller for the French automaker, but faces rising competition from Chinese automakers as they expand into Europe.
With nearly 17 million units sold since the first version in 1990, the Clio is “the best-selling French car of all time,” the company said in a press release.
Made in Turkey, the current version – the Clio 5 – was Europe’s top-selling model in the first half of 2025 with more than 130,000 units sold.
The new Clio 6 will also be made in Turkey.
Renault design director Laurens van den Acker stuck to a similar design to the Clio 4 with the Clio 5 in 2019, but this time has reinvented the front and rear of the car, which is sleeker, sportier and 7 centimetres (2.76 inches) longer.
“When tackling an icon, the mistake you can make is not being able to take risks,” Renault brand CEO Fabrice Cambolive said at a press conference ahead of the show.
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The new Clio will be offered in petrol, hybrid and LPG versions.
In higher trim levels, the Clio 6 will also offer tech features usually found in larger models, including a dual 10-inch (25.4 cm) screen, an infotainment package with Google Maps, Google Assistant and Google Play — and up to 29 driving aids.
The bigger vehicle and tech package will also mean a bigger price tag than the current 16,900 euros ($19,785) starting price for the Clio 5 in France. Clio 6 pricing will be released later and deliveries will start this year.
Renault has focused on profit margins since its 2020-2021 restructuring, but lowered its full-year earnings forecast in July because of weak European sales.
However, the automaker believes it can charge more for the Clio 6 because its Dacia brand offers the lower-cost Dacia Sandero, Europe’s second best-selling car in the first half of the year.
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(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Writing By Nick Carey; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)