Renault Clio sixth generation: new spy photos reveal what’s coming

Gareth J. Hargreaves • August 28, 2026 17:07

Renault’s small car line-up looks more crowded than ever. After the unveiling of the new Renault 5 and Renault 4-both fully electric-some began to wonder whether there would still be room for a new generation of the Clio.

These latest spy photos make it clear that a sixth generation is on the way, extending the well-known French model’s 35-year history.

It is worth remembering that the two new retro-styled “offspring” are 100% electric. Even so, there is still space-and time-in the French brand’s range for a Renault Clio that continues with combustion engines.

Renault Clio powertrains: hybrid-only on the cards?

However, with European CO₂ emissions-reduction targets due for 2025, the new Renault Clio could arrive exclusively as a hybrid. That would rule out the more affordable petrol-only or bi-fuel (LPG) versions.

The hybrid system is expected to be an evolution of the current E-Tech Full Hybrid. In the Clio currently on sale, it produces 145 cv and returns 4.2 l/100 km (WLTP combined cycle). It could also be joined by other options, such as those used in the Austral (a 1.2 l engine) or the new unit introduced with the Dacia Bigster (a 1.8 l engine).

CMF-B platform and the electric Renault Clio question

Beyond that, Renault’s former technical director, Gilles Le Borgne, told Auto Express last year that a fully electric Clio remained a possibility. Even so, we already know the sixth-generation Clio will be based on an evolution of the CMF-B platform, the same architecture used by today’s Clio.

Designed around combustion and hybrid powertrains, CMF-B is technically close to the CMF-BEV platform dedicated to EVs, which underpins the new Renault 5 and Renault 4. The two platforms share roughly 60% of their components.

For that reason, Le Borgne suggested that the industrial case for an adaptation could be easier than it might first appear. Any green light would depend heavily on how the European electric-car market develops over the next few years-a market that has been moving in a negative direction this year.

Very well disguised

In visual terms, the amount of camouflage does not hide the fact that this next Renault Clio prototype is still at an early stage of development. Both the side-exit exhaust and the mechanical elements fitted in the front bumper underline that.

Even so, despite the heavy disguise, it is already possible to see that the lighting signatures will be completely different at both the front and the rear. The tailgate’s shape also shows a clearly defined arc, and along the side you can make out that the rear door handles remain integrated into the rear pillar design.

Otherwise, the test car gives away few additional details. At the front, for instance, the grille appears to carry a diamond pattern-echoing the French brand’s logo-but in an unusual, heavily concealed execution. On the one hand, it looks as if some components are missing; on the other, it gives the impression that extra parts have been fitted beneath the camouflage purely to mislead the most curious eyes.