Renault will axe the Twingo city car from its UK line-up, citing a desire to simplify its model range.
A facelifted Twingo will go on sale in the next few months, but Renault has confirmed that a right-hand-drive version for the UK won’t be introduced.
A spokesman said: “Renault UK has decided to not commercialise the Twingo [facelift] in the UK right-hand-drive market when this vehicle launches across Europe in the first half of 2019.
He continued: “The decision is due to commercial reasons that align with Renault UK’s policy of having a simpler choice of versions for customers – as demonstrated with the recently introduced Easy Life specifications on Clio, Captur, Mégane, Scénic and Koleos models – and allowing a greater commercial focus to be placed on the range of all-new models and powertrains coming in 2019 and beyond as outlined in Groupe Renault’s Drive The Future mid-term business plan.”
Sales of the current Twingo peaked in 2015, with 5555 units sold in the UK. Since then, sales have declined dramatically. In 2018, just 877 Twingos were sold here.
The Twingo is part of the declining city car segment, with rivals including the Citroën C1 and Volkswagen Up also having lost ground over the last couple of years. In Europe last year, the Twingo sold 77,326 units, while the C1 sold 53,292 and the Up 100,715.
These entry-level cars are also notoriously hard to make profitable, and Renault is likely to perceive that UK sales aren’t worth the return on investment.
The Smart Forfour, which shares its underpinnings with the Twingo, is unaffected, according to a Smart UK spokesman.