Renault Unveils Uber-Cute Kangoo BeBop ZE, First of Four Electric Cars

Renault Kangoo be bop ZE electric vehicle

Annual meetings are often grim, and never more so for automakers than this year, with every company confronting plummeting sales and red ink. But Renault resolutely moved forward with the next step in its electric-vehicle strategy, unveiling the Kangoo be bop Z.E. (for "zero emissions") at today's shareholder get-together in Paris.

Along with its partner Nissan, the French carmaker plans to introduce no less than four electric vehicles, of which this is one. It will go into production in 2011, but Renault plans to tour it all over Europe and offer test drives starting this summer.

The Kangoo be bop Z.E. (yes, that's really its name) is adapted from the standard Kangoo small van, which is offered in Europe with diesel and gasoline engines. The electric version uses a 15-kilowatt-hour battery pack from Automotive Energy Supply, Nissan's joint venture with NEC Tokin Corporation to build lithium-ion vehicle batteries.

The pack is located behind the dashboard, which preserves load space but makes us wonder about handling--those packs are heavy.

Renault claims a range of 60 miles at present, with a goal of 100 miles by the time production starts in 2011. Renault's other EVs will include a version of the Fluence compact sedan, a five-seat city electric car, and an unspecified short-range urban car.

The Fluence may be the most important of Renault's EVs. It is the car to be supplied to Better Place, the venture-funded startup that proposes to set up a network of fast chargers and battery-pack swapping stations in countries that include Israel, Denmark, and Portugal.

Meanwhile, Nissan plans to introduce its first electric car in Japan and the US next year, using the same battery technology, with global rollouts by 2012. Together, Renault-Nissan intends to become "the leading producer of mass-market zero emission vehicles," according to the company.
Until then, enjoy these images of the electric Kangoo. In addition to snazzy wheels and paint, it has a few EV-specific features. According to Renault, Linear displays on the outside of Kangoo be bop Z.E.'s doors show how much charge is left in the battery by simply activating the remote central locking control. Inside, another gauge to the left of the instrument panel provides the driver with a permanent indication of how much battery charge remains.