Renault will add a new Twingo to its Z.E. range of electric vehicles in the second half of 2014, according to Jacques Bousquet, head of Renault Italy. The French automaker’s official said the Twingo Z.E. will be the company's fifth EV, after the Kangoo, Fluence, Twizy and Zoe.
The executive revealed that Renault’s alliance with Daimler AG helped speed up the development of the next-generation Twingo-based Z.E. model, as the Twingo's new platform will be shared with a future four-seat Smart car.
Bousquet added that the Kangoo Z.E. will be joined by more electric vans in the future. "The Kangoo Z.E. is the first of a broader range of battery-powered light commercial vehicles we are currently developing," he said.
The official also revealed the timetable for the market launch of the Z.E. models as well as their prices in France. The first to go on sale will be the Fluence Z.E. sedan, which will arrive in showrooms in mid-2011 with a base price of €26,000 ($36,200) including sales tax. The monthly fee for the battery lease (on a 36-month plan) will be €79 ($110).
Next up will be the Kangoo Z.E.. The small commercial van will cost €20,000 ($27,850) excluding tax, while there’s also a €72 ($100) fee to be paid each month for the battery pack. In France, the car will cost €15,000 ($20,900) since it qualifies for incentives, equaling the price of the diesel Kangoo.
The two-seater Twizy EV will be launched in December for a price of €6,990 ($9730) including tax, plus €45 ($63) as a monthly payment for the battery. Finally, the core model for the Z.E. range, the Zoe supermini, will arrive in mid-2012. The price hasn't been announced yet, but Renault plans to sell 150,000 units a year of the Zoe Z.E.
As for the Kangoo and Fluence EVs, Renault aims to sell 30,000 to 50,000 units a year of each model.
By Dan Mihalascu
Source: Automotive News
