Engineered in a wind tunnel, the new electric’s WLTP range – up to 460 km – ranks it as Europe’s new standard-setting electric van. The vehicle is equipped with two battery options, 40 kWh and 87 kWh, optimised in terms of capacity, size and mass, for overall efficiency at the top of the category. Its performance has been made possible by its “Aerovan” design and a new, fully optimised platform, which have helped to reduce power consumption by more than 27% compared with the current generation. The two energy storage capacity ratings are built into a single casing and designed for driving requirements in cities as much as in suburbs. And they do not hamper the vehicle’s payload capacity – which is an essential criterion in this segment.
It is the “Aerovan” design that provides the highest efficiency in its category regardless of the energy source. Its SCx is over 20% lower, ranking the van at the top end of the segment. To address all professional users’ requirements, the powertrain’s performance was upgraded with a 300 Nm/105 kW motor and a transmission system with one of the highest ratios in the heavy electric van market. The New Master E-Tech electric range includes vans with a maximum authorised laden mass of 4 tonnes and towage muscle never seen before in the segment, without compromising handling, even in the fast lane.
The battery heat management system keeps the temperature constant, which increases the battery’s performance and extends its useful life. The dynamic braking system – a first in an LCV – also limits the number of components in the motor compartment (an internal motor actuates the brakes). Besides providing a braking boost, the system responds faster, which also improves the vehicle’s active safety. By uncoupling the driver’s pressure on the pedal from the braking mechanism, the system can turn the kinetic energy from the deceleration into electric power to charge the battery and extend its range. The system can harvest up to 95 kW of energy this way.
All this work has improved efficiency in very real ways: New Renault Master consumes 27% less energy than the current generation, has a 460 km WLTP range and its payload capacity is substantial.
Renault Master E-Tech electric is the only vehicle in its category to be made in France: the three versions (ICE, electric and hydrogen) and all the bodies come from the same production line in Batilly (near Metz, eastern France).