RENAULT has signalled the end of its bold drive into the luxury segment with the announcement that it will no longer sell the Vel Satis in the UK from this summer.

The firm said that a revised version was due this year, but the cost of the changes to right-hand drive models was prohibitively high for the low levels of sales. In total, 1,400 Vel Satis models were sold in three years of UK sales. Early expectations from Renault were for 3,500 sales a year.

Its other luxury car, the Avantime, was canned two years ago after less than a year on sale.