Renault And Dacia To Follow Volvo In Limiting Cars To 180 km/h

Renault has officially confirmed it will introduce a speed limiter on all its future models. "As of 2022, the Megane-E will come equipped with an automatic speed limit adjuster, set by default. The vehicle's top speed will also be capped at 180km/h. The speed will also be capped on Renault and Dacia models, and will not exceed 180km/h."

"Our vision is that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car," the Swedish company's ambitious Safety Vision goal states, putting the emphasis on the reduced top speed as a key part of the new strategy. All new Volvos are now sold with a 112-miles per hour (180-kilometers per hour) electronic speed limit, and it seems that the automaker won't be the only player from the auto industry to implement factory speed restrictions.

According to a new report from Spiegel, Renault's boss Luca de Meo told shareholders during a meeting in Paris last week that high speed is the main reason for road deaths. The French manufacturer wants to limit the max speed of all its new vehicles to the same 112-mph (180-kph) barrier, and to do so, it will introduce the so-called Safety Coach system. It will monitor the road speed limits and road conditions and will adjust the speed accordingly.

We have to admit there are just a few places on Earth where you can go above, say, 87 mph (140 kph) without breaking the law. Obviously, certain sections of the Autobahn in Germany allow for restriction-free driving, though admittedly very few drivers buying a new Renault go for a top-speed test on the German highway anyway. That said, Spiegel reports Dacia will also implement the same 112-mph (180-kph) speed limits in its cars, and given the brand's somewhat weak recent crash test performance, that's probably not a bad idea.

At this point, it's not known when Renault and Dacia will begin shipping cars with the said Safety Coach system, though we won't be surprised if more and more manufacturers join the manufacturers in announcing a lower electronic speed limiter. With many tuning companies now being experts in software modifications, Volvo's speed barrier could be easily bypassed and we expect Renault's new tech feature to be controllable, too.