The electric car is now an integral part of the street scene, but ten years ago the cards were shuffled very differently. Then Renault pulled up namely the curtain of his first electric cars!
Mid-April 2010 Renault sends the first photos of its EVs around. We meet the Fluence Z.E. and Kangoo Z.E. Exactly, the Zoe doesn’t even exist yet. Renault does treat us to the Zoe Z.E. a year earlier. Concept car, a futuristic two-door. In September 2010, the Zoe will have its second debut in conceptual form. This Zoe Preview is very similar to the Zoe as we all know it now, but around the Easter days of 2010 that was still strictly secret. So we do get to see the electric sedan and van, of which already regular ones run on fossil fuels.
In addition to the first images, Renault also sends the first specifications. With today’s knowledge it is almost touching. The electric motor in the Fluence produces 95 hp. The battery pack has a capacity of 22 kWh. All this ensures a (NEDC) range of 160 kilometers. Now a laugh, then quite an achievement. The Kangoo appears to have a less strong electric motor of 60 hp, but the battery is the same size. The Kangoo should also reach 160 kilometers on a full battery. We see the blue accents around the body and the new “Energy Blue” paint color for the first time.
The Fluence Z.E. eventually sees the light of day in Turkish Bursa between 2011 and 2014. In Europe, almost four thousand people buy a copy, including 123 Dutch people. As soon as we receive the Fluence Z.E. wave goodbye in Europe, a new career awaits the other side of the world. In South Korea and China, Samsung Motors and Dongfeng Renault will then start working with their versions of the electric Frenchman. The electric Kangoo is still at the dealers. However, that is not the same version as that shown in 2010, because about three years ago, Renault puts the orderer in the new. The most important news: the range increases to 270 km (NEDC). In addition to an order version, there is also a variant with space for passengers. Even the pope switches to an electric car and takes a Kangoo Z.E. The current version has to be added for a while, but the replacement is ready. The Kango Z.E. presented in 2019 Concept heralds this newcomer.
Renault is now doing well electrically. The Zoe is by far the best-selling EV of the brand. The 200,000th copy was recently built and accidentally handed over to a Dutchman. After several subtle adjustments, Renault puts the electric hatchback in a strongly renewed jacket last year. After WLTP measurements, the new Zoe appears to be able to travel 394 kilometers on one charge. The Frenchman can now also use a fast charger. For later this year, the Twingo Z.E. On schedule. This gets the battery pack from the first Fluence and Zoe and has to go 180 kilometers. An electric crossover is on the agenda for next year.
Funnily enough, in a message from ten years ago, Renault looks ahead to 2020: “The French think that by 2020, ten percent of all cars sold in the world will be electric.” This was miraculously the case in the Netherlands in 2019, but for the rest of the world, the bar is still a bit too high.