Renault given electric car boost (Automotive News)

Renault given electric car boost
10/28/2008
Automotive News - Online
PARIS -- The French government has given a major boost to Renault's electric vehicle plans.

The French automaker's early-October announcement that it will launch a battery-powered version of the lower-medium Fluence sedan in 2011 came days before Renault and state-owned utility EDF revealed plans to build a network of electric-vehicle recharging stations by 2011.

Renault also plans to launch a second, compact electric car in Europe in 2012. The electric vehicle will be based on the Z.E. concept unveiled at the Paris show, and is expected to include both passenger-car and utility-van versions.

The recharging station initiative will be backed by €400 million in funds from the French government, promised by President Nicolas Sarkozy during a visit to the Paris auto show.

The plug-in version of the Fluence sedan could sell as many as 40,000 units in its first year on the market, and quickly double that amount, said Patrick Pelata, Renault's chief operating officer.

Fluence sales volumes will be dependent on the level of government subsidies, Pelata said.

The car based on the Z.E. concept will be built at Renault's small car factory in Flins, northwest of Paris, Pelata said.

Replacing Megane sedan

The Fluence is a lower-medium sedan slated to replace Renault's Megane four-door sedan. It arrives in diesel and petrol versions. The French carmaker will begin selling hatchback and coupe versions of Megane in November, with convertible, wagon and minivan versions rolling out in 2009.

There will be no Megane sedan.

When it arrives in battery-powered form in 2011, the Fluence will be the core vehicle in Renault's electric car venture in Israel. It will first be launched in Israel, then will be sold across Europe, Pelata said.

Renault could build the lithium-ion batteries for its electric cars in France to reduce transport costs and stay close to technology experts at the company's main engineering centers near Paris, he said.

The French carmaker does not see electric cars as an experiment, Pelata said. "This is a strategic move [that] is going to reshape the industry."