From time to time the question about the real Renault ZOE battery capacity pops up, especially after the French company introduced new longer range R240 version in parallel with previous Q210 edition.

Renault stated that the range (under NEDC) increased from 210 km (130 miles) to 240 km (149 miles) thanks to new in-house developed drivetrain. In real world terms the new R240 ZOE will go a little over 100 miles, whereas the Q210 was more like 88-90 miles.

Basically, range increased by some 14%, but there was no word about battery capacity changes.

Thanks to one of our readers (hat tip to Alex) in a recent story about strong ZOE sales in March, we got a hint about a video with Masato Origuchi from Renault (formerly at Nissan) who revealed battery capacity change at one of presentations in late 2015.

The first generation Renault ZOE had 22 kWh usable energy from the battery, while the new R240 is able to use 23.3 kWh out of nearly 26 kWh. Increase of usable capacity is 5.9%.

In other words, the new, more efficient electric motor wasn’t the only cause of longer range.

Battery cells for Renault ZOE are supplied by LG Chem. Those are 36 Ah, 3.75 V.

Renault enables (like all other manufacturers) only part of the full battery for usage (less than 90%), to extend the durability of the pack.

Source: Inside EVs