Renault
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The Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt might be leading plug-in car sales in the U.S, but in Europe one in two electric cars sold as a Renault. That doesn't mean high sales of course, but it means Renault has a foothold in a growing market, and one it isn't keen to let go of. And as part of its own brand strategy over the next few years, there's a message other electric automakers would do well to take notice of: make the most of your current electric vehicles, rather than spreading the technology too thin. It may seem like an unusual take for a company with four production electric models--the Twizy...
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100,000 Electric Cars Sold By Nissan, Renault...And Counting
As more electric cars hit the roads it's only natural a few milestones will fall here and there--and the latest is for the Franco-Japanese duo Renault-Nissan. The companies have now sold over 100,000 electric vehicles between them--the milestone car a Nissan Leaf, sold to American grad student...
Antony Ingram -
Renault Study Shows Electric Cars Far Greener Than Gasoline--In France
With relatively few electric vehicles on the market, drawing direct comparisons with regular gasoline and diesel vehicles is surprisingly difficult--not many vehicles are sold with all three drivetrains. The Ford Focus is one, and Renault's Fluence sedan is another. Now, reports Autoblog Green, the...
Antony Ingram -
Renault Twizy Cargo: Electric City Car Loses Seat, Gains Cargo Space
Removing equipment from a car isn't usually the way to make it more appealing, but a new variant of the Renault Twizy city car may have done just that. Called the Renault Twizy Cargo, the French automaker has removed the rear seat from the Twizy's normal tandem layout, replacing it with a larger...
Antony Ingram -
Renault's Electric Car Plans Unfazed By Better Place Bankruptcy
That battery-swapping electric infrastructure firm Better Place filed for bankruptcy at the weekend won't come as a surprise to many. The firm has struggled to find customers and suffered several setbacks over the past year, including the ousting of its CEO and delayed rollout in other countries...
Antony Ingram -
Renault Fluence ZE To Be Only Battery-Swap Car; One For The Books?
To the untrained eye, the Renault Fluence Z.E. is a fairly unremarkable vehicle--a compact sedan not unlike other compact sedans sold all around the world. What makes it different is its electric drivetrain, but what separates it even more is the fact its battery can be swapped out for a new one in...
Antony Ingram -
You might think that Europe, with its congested cities and relatively short distances between cities, would be the perfect environment for electric cars. Whether or not that's the case, the choice of electric cars there isn't nearly as wide as it is in the U.S. But with the Renault Zoe you see here, it's just got wider, and a lot more affordable. Renault's Zoe is the latest in a line of electric vehicles stemming from the Renault-Nissan partnership. It's a subcompact electric car, based loosely on the platform used under a huge range of Renault-Nissan products, from the Renault Clio found in...
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Renault Twin'Z: Rear-Drive Electric Car Hints At Next Smart Fortwo
Renault didn't endear itself to the U.S. back in the 1980s, with products like the Alliance and Le Car. It's almost a shame they aren't in the States today though, with a range of excellent performance hatchbacks to entice thrill-seeking buyers, and a burgeoning range of electric vehicles at...
Antony Ingram -
Renault UK Offers Free Charging Stations With Zoe Electric Car
Renault's absence from North America means the Zoe electric car won't be reaching U.S. shores any time soon. And that's kind of a shame. It's about as chic as you'd expect for a car originating from France, and makes you wonder why some other companies can't put a bit of effort into styling their...
Antony Ingram -
Better Place Bails Out Of Both U.S. And Australia
If you've been following our reports on battery-swapping company Better Place, the news probably won't come as much of a surprise. The company has decided to shut down its operations in the U.S. and Australia, to concentrate on its original markets of Denmark and Israel. Loss-making Better Place...
Antony Ingram -
Daimler, Ford, Nissan Agree To Share Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Costs For 2017 Or Later
The speculation is over, as Daimler has signed a three-way agreement with Ford and the Renault-Nissan Alliance to jointly develop future hydrogen fuel-cell technology. The technology, expensive to develop and not without its drawbacks, has been explored by each company in the past, and the...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Smart ForTwo: More Details, Renault Version Nixed
Smart's tiny Fortwo city car is being replaced in early 2014, and more details are emerging on the next generation small car. Changes include new engines, new transmissions and a size increase--but partner Renault will no longer be producing its own two-seat equivalent. CAR Magazine reports that...
Antony Ingram -
The Better Place battery swapping saga continues, as partner Renault has delayed the roll-out off its electric Fluence sedan. Renault Australia announced the indefinite postponement, as it waits for Better Place to establish a broader and more practically viable network of swapping stations. Car Advice reports that Australia's battery-swapping service was set to roll out during 2012, but hold-ups in the company's home markets of Israel and Denmark have backed up the Australian introduction. That could mean delays of another six to 12 months down under. Spokeswoman Felicity Glennie-Holmes...
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Will France Lead Europe In Electric-Car Industry?
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...
Antony Ingram -
Renault Blesses Pope Benedict With A Free Electric Car
The current head of the Catholic church, Pope Benedict XVI, is rather fond of electric cars. We know this because back in 2010, the Vatican revealed that he was eager to count an electric vehicle among his throng of armored cars--presumably to go with the solar panels he's had installed on the roof...
Antony Ingram -
Renault ZOE Shatters Distance Record For An Electric Car
If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times: range-anxiety is one of the biggest hurdles facing electric car manufacturers. If consumers don't believe that an electric car is going to get them from Point A to Point B (without a time-consuming battery recharge), vehicle sales will stall...
Richard Read -
Renault ZOE Electric Car Debuts At Geneva: Live Photos
French carmaker Renault chose the Geneva Motor Show to launch the ZOE, the final model in its four-car Z.E. electric vehicle range. Joining the Fluence sedan, Kangoo van and Twizy city car, the ZOE is a B-segment electric car, similar in size to a Ford Fiesta. Unlike the Fluence and Kangoo which...
Antony Ingram -
Tall, Skinny Tires: Newest Green-Car Efficiency Trend
There are many unusual things about the BMW i3 Concept electric minicar revealed last month, including its glass doors and roof, not to mention BMW's first production battery-electric powertrain. But the BMW i3 is also at the leading edge of another efficiency trend: tall, narrow tires that reduce...
John Voelcker -
We thought the 2011 Geneva Motor Show was one of the best ever for electric cars and green vehicles, but the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, starting in less than a week, is shaping up to be even better. We'll be covering the show in-depth next week, but in the meantime we've rounded up all the electric cars you can expect to see at the show. Concept Vehicles Audi A2 Concept Audi's original A2 was a high-tech, aluminum-bodied subcompact launched in 1999. Audi's new A2 is a high-tech, electric-powered subcompact, not yet confirmed for release. It's designed to show off the latest in Audi's LED and...
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BREAKING: Renault Teases Frendzy Concept Before 2011 Frankfurt Show
Renault has just unveiled its latest electric car creation ahead of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Called the Frendzy, and looking a little like the Kia Soul, the concept is a just under 14 feet in length and features a whole host of technology worthy of any concept car, including the ability to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Director's Cut Of Electric Car Ads: Gas-Powered Everything (Video)
Remember Nissan’s latest 2011 Leaf commercial? Asking the viewer to imagine a world where everything from your cellphone to your microwave oven was powered by gasoline, the 60-second advert played essentially questioned why many people would choose electricity over gasoline to power their...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
First Electric Renault Kangoo Van Z.E. Sold In U.K.
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...
Antony Ingram -
For Hire: Where Will Renault’s Exonerated Electric Car Executives Head?
Renault’s paranoia over industrial espionage backfired earlier this week as it struggled with the reality that it had been duped into believing that three of its executives had been selling electric car secrets to the Chinese. But while Renault/Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn made a formal apology to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
TRICKED: Renault Paranoia Over Electric-Car Secrets Backfires, Shames Execs
Con men are well known for their ability to sell their victims fake goods, extract money or even con them out of their homes. But con men traditionally prey on individuals, concentrating on the vulnerable, naive or greedy. So just how did con men convince an automotive giant to hand over nearly...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield