France

Tesla's Model S might be making all the headlines, but there's a smaller, more accessible electric car with equally high expectations placed upon it. That electric car is the Renault Zoe, sold only in Europe and tasked with making electric cars a usable proposition for the masses. And to a small...

Until now, if you'd wanted to drive a Bollore Bluecar electric vehicle, all you'd have required as a few Euros per hour to take one of the little vehicles around the crowded roads of Paris, France. Bollore has now put the Bluecar on sale to the French public, at a starting price of 12,000...

You may never have heard of Europe's most important electric car. It's the Renault Zoe, an all-electric subcompact that won't be sold in the United States. It comes from French Renault, a company that shares technology with Japan's Nissan--which introduced the Leaf compact electric hatchback here...

Just over two years since the first Nissan Leaf was delivered to its Californian owner, one driver has the keys to the French equivalent. The Renault Zoe electric car is a class size smaller than the Leaf, but like the Nissan it represents the first major push from Renault to sell a dedicated...

If you read our reviews a few months back, you'll be aware that the 2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive is a much better car than its predecessors. In third-generation form, it's quicker and has a greater range, but is now available to buy as well as lease--and it's the cheapest electric car on sale...

Which international carmaker currently has the largest range of electric vehicles? The answer is Renault. The French automaker has a significant EV portfolio--and as the French government puts greater emphasis on EVs, it may soon be joined by other carmakers too. Indeed, between electric cars...

Last week, the Chevrolet Volt became the first production car to drive from the U.K. to France, using the service tunnel of the Eurotunnel underwater railway line between the two European countries. What’s more, the stunt was orchestrated by Top Gear Magazine, the more measured, printed...

In the developed world, we often think of ourselves as living in a classless society. But in fact, huge disparities still exist between the haves and the have-nots. Can car-sharing bridge the gap? Paris' city council seems to think so, and it's launched an electric car-sharing company to prove its...

It seems that Nissan isn’t the only automaker suffering from low electric-car sales figures: Mitsubishi is too. Yesterday, the Japanese automaker announced a temporary halting of shipments of its all-electric i minicar to French automaker Peugeot Citroen. Slightly smaller than the U.S.-spec...

Look back a few years, and the Federal government under President George Bush offered buyers of hybrid cars up to $3,400 in tax credits for buying an electric car. As of December 31, 2010, those tax credits expired, to make way for similar tax credits for those who buy fully electric or plug-in...

Who said electric cars don't make sense in cold, snowy conditions? Certainly not some of the top racing drivers competing in the electric class of the Andros Trophy, an ice racing series that appeared in 1990 and has gone from strength to strength ever since. The races take place on dedicated ice...

Earlier this week we told you about the Danish town refusing to allow charging station and battery provider Better Place from installing charging points unless it painted them green. Now the electric car craziness has headed south to France, where officials at the French Ministry for the...

Expected to be the first of many, French carmaker Renault has become the latest company to take an order for one of their upcoming electric vehicles, the Kangoo Van Z.E. The only commercial vehicle in Renault's upcoming range of electric vehicles that includes the Fluence sedan, the Zoe subcompact...

Is it a car? Is it a scooter? No: It's a Twizy, which could be considered a combination of the two. If you're following the world of electric cars with a keen eye then you'll no doubt be aware that French manufacturer Renault is taking electric vehicles quite seriously, just like its Japanese...

If you happen to indulge in the twin passions of both electric cars and motorsport, you'll no doubt have heard of series such as the TTX-GP for electric racing motorcycles that holds events all over the world. A similar series has been slow to emerge for electric cars but at the recent United...

Why are many European carmakers now planning to build electric vehicles? Because many European cities are widely expected to ban high-emissions vehicles from their city cores over the next decade--perhaps even vehicles with any emissions at all. Now, Paris may be the first city to experiment with...

As the saying goes, if the French didn't exit, we'd have to invent them: A nation that reveres Jerry Lewis, builds cars with single-spoke steering wheels or names like Kangoo BeBop ZE, and threatens to blow up factories if strike demands aren't met (and then changes its mind). The latest evidence...