A single model will replace the Renault Laguna and Latitude this year

Despite recent successes such as the Captur, Renault is not going through its best period in Europe. Its range needed a thorough update to respond to current trends, but also to allow it to rely less solely on this continent. 2015 will be a very important year, which has started with the presentation of the Kadjar and will continue with the launch of the Espace this spring and the unveiling of more models throughout the year.

Renault announced at the Geneva Motor Show that the fourth generation of the Mégane will be revealed in September at the Frankfurt Show. Besides the compact, the brand also plans to show in 2015 the successor to the Laguna and Latitude. In fact, if the French magazine L’Argus‘s prediction comes true, we could see it on 6 July, about three months before the Mégane.

The new model, which will not reuse any of the names of its predecessors –L’Argus suggests the name Atalans as a possibility-, will be sold with saloon and estate bodies, thus dropping the coupé, according to the sales director of Renault, Jérôme Stoll, speaking to Automotive News Europe.

It will be built on the modular CMF/D platform of the Renault-Nissan alliance, which will allow better use of economies of scale, and Europe will no longer be the main market for this vehicle, given the sales collapse it still suffers -41% in 2014-. Instead it will target other regions where the D-segment remains strong, including China.

In 2013, the former CEO of Renault, Carlos Tavares, said this model will feature a “fluid” and “emotional” design, aimed at moving the products in this category within the Renault range away from an anodyne and cold character. L’Argus adds that we will see stylistic features shared with the new Espace, especially at the nose.

Source | Automotive News Europe and L’Argus