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Renault boast of its environmental credentials saying that the eco² cars are ecologically sound from manufacture to the end of its life. The factories they are built in meet ISO-14001 standards (which governs water and energy consumption and harmful discharge of waste-water and emissions). The car's CO2 emissions do not exceed 140g/km (or are biofuel-compatible) and, in addition to being 95% reusable at the end of their life, at least 5% of the plastics they contain have been recycled - a figure that they are seeking to increase.

The biofuel cars are designed to run on E85 bioenthanol or B30 biodiesel. E85 bioethanol can achieve CO2 gains of up to 70% over the so-called well-to-wheel cycle compared to the same model powered by conventional petrol. The figure is about 20% for B30 biodiesel.

In these new models, Renault has downsized their engines, but claim that performance is not reduced "thanks to the use of appropriate technology" such as the addition of a turbocharger or a switch to direct fuel injection. In other words, a 1.9-litre diesel engine with an output of 93hp has now been replaced by a more fuel-efficient, 1.5-litre turbocharged powerplant delivering 105hp. In 1993 a 93hp 1.9-litre Renault 19 DT could make the 748km journey from Paris to Montpellier in the south of France with an average fuel consumption of 6.5 litres/100km and 172g/km of CO2. Today, a 105hp Mégane 1.5 dCi can drive the 1,100km from Paris to Venice with average fuel consumption of 4.5 litres/100km and CO2 emissions of 120g/km.

In June 2007, Renault is due to launch a Mégane powered by a 105hp 1.6-litre 16V engine that runs on E85 bioethanol. It will be Renault's first ethanol-fuelled vehicle in Europe. For such engines to run on both conventional fuels and biofuels, existing powerplants from the Renault line-up have been modified to enable them to adapt automatically to different fuel types.

At the end of 2006, Renault introduced 90hp and 115hp versions of the 2.0 dCi Trafic and 100hp and 120hp versions of the 2.5 dCi Master, both of which run on B30 biodiesel. Aimed chiefly at companies running their own fleets, these vehicles can function with equal ease on conventional diesel fuel or on blends of diesel with 30% biodiesel (B30). The first passenger cars to use biodiesel will appear in 2008. The new Twingo, which was unveiled at the recent Geneva Motor Show, will be available with a B30-compatible 65hp 1.5 dCi powerplant.