Renault ends production of the Renault Talismán: the end of saloons?

Just a few days ago, Ford announced that production of the Ford Mondeo was coming to an end in favour of a more luxurious and exclusive SUV. Today we woke up to the news that the Renault Talismán, one of the leading representatives of the D-segment today, is bidding us farewell. That’s right, the company with the diamond logo has stopped the presses and let its quintessential saloon fall into a nosedive, and it will disappear irrevocably in a few weeks, leaving a truly desolate void.

And it was in 2016 that the French brand put into play a majestic saloon with a daunting task ahead: to replace the Renault Laguna. With all this on the table, Renault dared to challenge the aforementioned Ford Mondeo and the Volkswagen Passat, two of its rivals since time immemorial.

Despite the good work of the engineers at Renault in developing a vehicle with a value for money that is hard to beat, its success was never particularly noticeable. The sales of the Talismán never managed to surpass 40,000 units, a figure that felt rather poor not only compared with the competition, but also against some of its more distinguished predecessors.

Without a doubt, this trump card has proved decisive in bringing the life of the Renault Talismán to a full stop. Nor does the clear trend towards the disappearance of saloons help, a segment that, unfortunately, is being buried by SUVs. Bearing this in mind, it is not far-fetched to predict fairly easily what Renault’s plans will be to fill the gap left by the Talismán.

And with Luca de Meo at the helm of the French company, we can expect an unexpected turn of events, such as the revival of the Renault 5 and 4. In this way, it would not be far-fetched to expect the arrival of an SUV that, beyond offering practical solutions, would establish itself as an exclusive and luxurious model, indispensable requirements for standing up to some of its most direct German rivals.

Be that as it may, Renault has already ended its relationship with saloons, a segment we do not know whether will shine again at any point. In this way, and despite our assumptions, the company with the diamond logo leaves a void in its model range that will sooner or later be filled by a vehicle adapted to the latest canons of the brand and the tastes of the market.