Firm cites "limited profitability prospects" as it winds up car-sharing division and ends Duo production
Renault has axed its electric Mobilize Duo quadricycle before bringing it to the UK, citing "limited profitability prospects".
The Duo – effectively a successor to the Renault Twizy – was the flagship for the Renault Group's car-sharing and urban mobility programme: Mobilize.
The brand was established in 2021 with the ambition of becoming a leading name in the field of "everything beyond automotive", with charging stations, servicing programmes, urban mobility solutions and vehicle remanufacturing programmes falling under its remit.Â
Ultimately, the Renault Group envisioned that Mobilize would account for 30% of its total turnover by 2030.
The two-seat Duo – and the van-backed Bento variant – were conceived as the flagships for this new operation, being designed mainly for temporary use through app-based subscription services, rather than conventional ownership models.Â
The Duo launched last year and was due in the UK earlier in 2025, but Renault has announced that it is shuttering the 'Mobilize Beyond Automotive' operation, and bringing Duo production to an end.
"Some activities developed by Mobilize Beyond Automotive are discontinued, either because they have limited profitability prospects or because they do not directly serve the Group's strategic priorities," the company said.
As well as ending Duo production, Renault will also phase out its Zity car-sharing operation in Milan, Italy.
Mobilize Beyond Automotive no longer exists as an entity, Renault Group confirmed, having "fulfilled its role as an incubator and innovation driver by strengthening the group's expertise in new areas, identifying and developing high-potential opportunities, and discontinuing less relevant paths".
The company said it will continue to use the Mobilize name for its financial services operations, and the division's charging operations – including the Charge Pass subscription scheme, Mobilize fast charger network and V2G functionality – will be rolled back into the Renault Group umbrella.
Reuters reports that the move will cut around 80 of the 450 positions at Mobilize Beyond Automotive.
Mobilize was one of the central pillars of previous Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo's bold Renaulution transformation programme, but with that turnaround effectively complete, his replacement François Provost is making strategic adjustments in the run-up to announcing a new strategic plan in the first quarter of 2026.
