Renault Z.E.

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Renault Z.E.
Renault Zoe SAO 2014 0342.JPG
Renault Zero Emissions (ZE) badge, shown in a Renault Zoe.
Introduced2009
Discontinued2021 (replaced by Renault E-Tech Electric)

The Renault Z.E. (Z.E. stands for Zero Emission) is a line of all-electric cars from Renault. The line began with the Z.E series of concept cars. The first production car is the Renault Fluence Z.E. that was slated for sales to the public in Israel and Denmark by late 2011[ citation needed ] as part of the Better Place network, operated by Renault Fluence ZE cars. [1] [2] In 2011 Renault was awarded a contract to supply 15,600 electric vehicles to the French government and the state-owned postal service, La Poste. The vehicles are to contribute to a planned 25,000 electric vehicle fleet owned by the French government. [3]

Contents

The Z.E. branding is also used for Renault Trucks's electric models, despite being a separate company.

Global Renault Z.E. vehicle sales passed the 100,000 unit milestone in September 2016. [4] The Renault Zoe is the ZE top selling model, and global sales of the electric city car achieved the 150,000 unit milestone in June 2019. [5]

In 2021 the Z.E. brand was phased out with existing Z.E. models rebranded as E-Tech Electric.

Concept cars

2008 Paris Motor Show

The first model in the Z.E. project was a concept based on the Renault Kangoo Be Bop. It debuted at the 2008 Paris Motor Show [6]

It has its compact dimensions (length: 3.95 m (156 in), height: 1.85 m (73 in). [7] The Z.E. Concept is powered by a 70 kW electric motor with torque of 226 N⋅m (167 lbf⋅ft) and its lithium-ion batteries give 200 km electric range. Solar panels positioned on the roof power a temperature regulation system. [8]

Estimated price is 16,000 .[ citation needed ]

2009 Frankfurt Motor Show

In 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault extended the concept from one model to four:

Renault announced that cars "previewed" by all four Z.E. concept vehicles would be released from 2011 onwards and cater for a wide variety of different customers and uses. [9]

2010 Paris Motor Show

Mondial de l'Automobile 2010, Paris - France (5057792629).jpg

At the 2010 Paris Motor Show Renault showed the "Zoe Preview", promoting it as "a realistic glimpse of the forthcoming mass-market Renault electric car... a near-definitive representation (90 per cent) of the vehicle that will be manufactured at Renault's Flins plant, France. Its launch is scheduled for mid-2012." [10] The show car supports the same QuickDrop battery swap capability as the Fluence Z.E., and DC fast charging.

Renault also showed several updated Twizy models [11] and announced the Kangoo Express Z.E. van "will go on sale from mid-2011 for between €15,000 excluding VAT (with tax incentive of 5,000 euros deducted, and without options, in France) and €20,000 excluding VAT (without tax incentive, and without options), depending on the country." [12]

Production models

In 2010 Renault announced details of the first vehicles intended for production in 2011, the Fluence Z.E. and Kangoo Z.E. models. [13] Customers in several countries can pre-reserve models at the Renault-ZE web site, although as of April 2010 it has no pricing details. [14]

Renault announced the city car previewed by Zoé Z.E. Concept will be produced in Flins in France, and the vehicle based on Twizy. Concept will be built in Valladolid in Spain. [15]

Renault will initially purchase batteries from AESC, the Nissan-NEC joint venture in Japan. It announced development of battery production facilities in France, Japan, Portugal, UK, and the USA. [13]

Renault global all-electric Z.E. vehicle sales passed the 100,000 unit milestone in September 2016. [4] The Renault Zoe is the ZE top selling model, and global sales of the electric city car achieved the 50,000 unit milestone in June 2016, including both the passenger and cargo variants. [16]

Renault Zoe, as part of a CAR2GO car-share project in Haifa, Israel Renault Zoe CAR2GO Haifa.jpg
Renault Zoe, as part of a CAR2GO car-share project in Haifa, Israel

In November 2017, a new electric-car-share project was kicked off in Haifa, Israel. The project features 100 public Renault Zoe cars with its own parking spaces scattered around Haifa, operated by a smart card.

See also

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References

  1. "Better Place Launches First Battery Switch Station in Israel". Automobile Magazine. 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
  2. Eric Loveday (2011-03-03). "Renault, Better Place launch "unlimited mileage" electric car in Copenhagen for $38,000-plus". AutoblogGreen. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
  3. Loveday, Eric (7 October 2011). "Renault to sell 15,600 electric vehicles to French government". Autoblog Green. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Renault hands over the key to its 100,000th electric vehicle" (Press release). Oslo: Groupe Renault. 2016-09-09. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
  5. Luke John Smith (2019-06-18). "New Renault Zoe REVEALED with more range, bigger battery and more power". Daily Express . Retrieved 2020-05-22. Nearly 150,000 registrations by the end of May 2019
  6. Abuelsamid, Sam (2008-10-02). "Paris 2008: Renault Z.E. concept". Autobloggreen.com. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  7. Simona (2008-10-02). "2009 Renault Z.E. Concept". TopSpeed. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  8. Brian Potter (2008-10-02). "Renault Z.E. (Zero Emission) Concept Unveiled". WorldCarFans. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  9. Sebastian Blanco (2009-09-16). "Frankfurt 2009: Renault's all-electric four-car attack includes Twizy, the quirkiest car of the IAA". Autoblog Green. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  10. "ZOE Preview". Renault. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  11. "What's happening on the Renault stand: press days". 2010 Paris Motor Show Blog. Renault. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  12. "The 100% electric LCV: Renault Kangoo Express Z.E." 2010 Paris Motor Show Blog. Renault. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  13. 1 2 "RENAULT FLUENCE Z.E. AND KANGOO EXPRESS Z.E.: FINALIZED DESIGNS REVEALED AND PRE-RESERVATIONS OPEN" (PDF) (Press release). Renault. 2010-04-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  14. Sam Abuelsamid (2010-04-15). "Renault finalizes design of Fluence ZE and Kangoo ZE, starts taking reservations". Autoblog Green. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  15. "RENAULT TO PRODUCE ELECTRIC FLUENCE IN BURSA, TURKEY" (Press release). Renault. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  16. Cobb, Jeff (2016-08-01). "Renault Zoe and BMW i3 Join The 50,000 Sales Club". HybridCars.com. Retrieved 2016-08-01.As of June 2016, cumulative global sales of the top selling plug-in electric cars were led by the Nissan Leaf (about 225,000), Tesla Model S (over 129,000), Votl/Ampera family (over 117,000), Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (about 107,000), Toyota Prius PHV (over 75,000), BYD Qin (56,191), Renault Zoe (51,193), and BMW i3 (almost 50,000).