Strikes have brought parts of France’s oil industry to a standstill this week. Gas stations are running dry, lines are building at the pumps and people are hoarding fuel. The only people smiling? Electric car owners.
A look at Renault’s new marketing campaign for the Zoe model in France
And electric car makers have been quick to seize the golden marketing opportunity.
France’s Renault (RNLSY) launched a campaign this week to boost the visibility of its top selling electric car, Zoe, with multiple posts on Facebook (FB, Tech30) and Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) and advertisements in three French newspapers.
“In France, we don’t have any more petrol but we do have Zoe,” tweeted Renault. Its Facebook posts quickly received thousands of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’.
Renault said the campaign had led to a 50% spike in calls from drivers seeking information about the Zoe model. It also prompted electric car owners to post carpooling offers online to help other drivers who had run out of fuel.
Official launch of Fast-E project co-financed by the European Union and nine companies, including Renault, in Berlin and Brussels.
241 charging stations installed in Germany and 37 in Belgium by the end of 2016.
A sister project between the Czech Republic and Slovakia adds another 30 charging stations.
Renault is a partner of the European fast-charging project Fast-E in Germany (Image: Renault)
The 278 charging points set up every 80 km along Germany and Belgium’s main motorways, will allow drivers of electric vehicles to “refuel” and extend their car’s range. The total investment of the EU-funded cooperation is approximately €18 million.
Every one of the multi-standard fast-chargers spread out over four countries have AC and DC connections, allowing drivers to charge their vehicles’ batteries easily and quickly. Electric vehicles can be charge up to 80% on the charging stations within an hour.
RENAULT IS NUMBER ONE IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN EUROPE
Renault sells more electric vehicles in Europe than any other car manufacturer and had a market share of over 23 percent in 2015. Indeed, nearly one out of every four electric vehicles sold in Europe comes from the French manufacturer. The Renault electric vehicle product range includes the compact five-door hatchback ZOE, the Kangoo Z.E. and Kangoo Maxi Z.E. vans, the agile two-seater Twizy and the compact carrier Twizy Cargo.
About Fast-E:
Under the leadership of the charging station operator Allego, the project Fast-E brings together nine companies in the industry, including three charging station operators (RWE Effizienz, enviaM and Allego) as well as four car manufacturers (Volkswagen AG, BMW AG, RENAULT SAS, NISSAN CENTER EUROPE), DB Energie GmbH, a subsidiary of DEUTSCHE BAHN and the Hamburg-based company hySOLUTIONS, which, as a competence centre in several charging infrastructure projects, is responsible for the integration of new drive technologies in urban transport. The quick-charging stations installed as part of the project employ the Combined Charging System (CCS) and CHAdeMO, each with up to 50 kW power output, as well as a type 2 connector with 43 kW power output. The project is expected to end in December 2017 with the completion of the accompanying studies; the charging infrastructure will continue to operate commercially thereafter.
About Allego:
Allego operates a charging infrastructure network for electric vehicles in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. The company, headquartered in Arnhem and having subsidiaries in Germany and in Belgium, has a neutral market position as a pure operator and is independent from suppliers in regards to charging technology. This helps Allego ensure maximum flexibility and a high degree of reliability in the availability of charging facilities. The special focus in the development and operation of charging technology for electric vehicles lies in the creation of a comprehensive network of normal and quick chargers. For this purpose, the company has already installed 86 quick chargers on Dutch, German and Belgian motorways.
