Auto Express captures Next Generation Renault Laguna, with a rendering on how it could look.

Spyshots confirm Laguna successor is under development, set to go head-to-head with the VW Passat

We brought you the news last month that Renault was working on a successor to the Laguna and these spy shots provide us with our first glimpse at the upcoming VW Passat rival. It will arrive later this year alongside Renault's new A-segment city car and pick-up - our rendering shows how the finished model could look.  

Renault has previously been indecisive about building a Laguna replacement due to the declining market for large 'three-box' family models, but these pictures confirm Renault is ploughing ahead with the project. The images indicate Renault will also attempt to move the saloon towards the more premium models in the class, with the Passat and Mazda 6 the main target. It features the same family face as the recently spied 2016 Megane, as well as a more sporting profile than before.

Whether   the  saloon  will  wear  the   Laguna   moniker  is  still  unknown,  with  Executive  Vice President at  Renault, Bruno  Ancelin, stating,  “there are  a lot of  possibilities,  but it  is  not  an obligation for us to use the same name in different countries.”

“There is a market for that [d-segment saloon] it’s the market of the Passat, it is the king of this market in Europe. [The market] is not positively evolving so of course the benefit today is more in favour of the D-segment crossover.”

Renault has confirmed the new saloon will be a global model but it is not yet know whether the UK will be a recipient of the Laguna replacement, with UK boss Ken Ramirez admitting ,“I have to say it’s not a priority. I don’t think you need to have a full range.”

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