Daily Archives: January 4, 2017

Renault has handed over the keys to its 100,000th electric car, a ZOE (Image: Renault)

Renault Hands Over the Key to its 100,000th Electric Vehicle

[From 13 September 2016]

  • Renault has handed over the keys to its 100,000th electric car, a ZOE, in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, today
  • A pioneer of all-electric vehicles, Renault is the European leader with 27% market share for electric cars

Five years since the launch of its first electric vehicle, Renault has handed over the keys to its 100,000th electric car customer.

The Renault ZOE – the brand’s all-electric supermini – was sold to 41 year old Norwegian, Mr. Åsmund Gillebo. To truly complement his purchase of a ZOE, he has been presented with five years of Fortim recharging and 100,000 minutes of recharging time from Grønn kontakt, two local energy suppliers.

Renault: the European leader for electric cars

Renault has handed over the keys to its 100,000th electric car, a ZOE (Image: Renault)
Renault has handed over the keys to its 100,000th electric car, a ZOE (Image: Renault)

In the first half of 2016, Renault sold more than 15,000 electric vehicles (excluding the Twizy), an increase of 32% on the previous year. This success confirms Renault’s status as the European market leader, especially for LCV. Indeed, on European roads, one in every four electric vehicles is a Renault. In France, half of all electric cars are Renaults. Renault’s main markets for electric cars are France, Norway, the UK and Germany. In the UK, Renault Z.E. sales grew to 1,199 in the first half of 2016 – an increase of 26.1 per cent. Of this, 1,069 of the vehicles were the all-electric ZOE – a 39.4 per cent increase on the first six months of 2015. Since the launch of its Z.E. vehicles in the UK in 2011, Renault has sold 5,977 electric vehicles to date comprising of Fluence, Kangoo Van Z.E, Twizy and ZOE.

Eric Feunteun, Director of Renault’s Electric Vehicle Division, said:

“Every year there are more customers for electric cars and Renault is making a major contribution to this with its constant innovation and dedication to developing infrastructure. Our customer satisfaction, which stands at 98% for the ZOE, encourages us to keep pushing onwards”.

Renault boasts the most comprehensive range of 100% electric cars on the market, enabling it to meet a variety of needs. The range is made up of the compact ZOE city car, the Kangoo Van ZE, the compact urban two-seater Twizy (and its utility version, the Twizy Cargo), and the stately saloon the RSM SM3 ZE (the best-selling electric vehicle in Korea).

The ZOE, the best-selling electric vehicle in Europe, dominates the market for electric private cars with over 23% market share. The Kangoo Van ZE, the leading electric LCV in Europe for the third year running, sets the benchmark for professionals and has won a number of tenders, including the French Post Office, and the French electricity provider ERDF in Norway. Lastly, with 17,000 models sold, the Twizy is the trailblazer for new ways to get around all over the world, and is extremely popular in car-sharing initiatives in both Europe and North America.

Renault, a key player in electric innovation

With cutting edge electrical technology, proven by its performance in Formula E, Renault is naturally winning over an increasing number of users. Since it began its electric adventure Renault has adopted a global strategy for electric mobility, and the development of infrastructure in particular. Renault is involved in a number of projects to install public recharge points, working with public bodies and other players in electric mobility like energy technicians. There are currently over 100,000 public recharge points around the world, 80,000 of which are in Europe, and they are constantly growing in number. As an example, Renault supports European Commission projects for the TEN-T fund (Trans European Transport Network), which has installed over 2,300 quick charge terminals along highways and major roads in over 15 countries.

In the UK, the ZOE has won numerous awards including What Car?’s ‘Best Electric Car Under £20,000’ for three consecutive years and was most recently voted second in the 2016 Auto Express Driver Power vehicle ownership survey out of 183 cars – Renault’s best ever ranking in the survey for one of its vehicles.

Source: Renault

Trevor Heale's new Hyundai Ioniq Electric (Image: T. Larkum)

An Introduction to the Hyundai Ioniq Electric

Hi, I am Trevor Heale. This is an introduction/taster to the Ioniq EV. Look online for in depth reviews/specs etc. Robert Llewellyn’s “Fully Charged” YouTube program was my introduction to the Ioniq. So I have to thank him for this adventure.

I have finally managed to go electric and here’s my first thoughts on my Hyundai Ioniq Premium SE.

Trevor Heale's new Hyundai Ioniq Electric (Image: T. Larkum)
Trevor Heale’s new Hyundai Ioniq Electric (Image: T. Larkum)

It is a fantastic machine. Pure pleasure to drive. I was not expecting to ever feel like this about motoring again.

Driving the Ioniq EV is simple:

  • Walk up to the car with the key in your pocket, press the button on the drivers door and pull the handle.
  • Once the driver’s door closes the driver’s seat moves to its designated position (nice).
  • There is no ignition switch.
  • Push and hold the foot brake pedal and press the start button to activate the car. The dash board display is lovely as it runs through its start up checks. Hold the foot brake, press ‘D’ on the centre console and the car is ready.
  • Press the right pedal and enjoy.

 

Pros

  • Fantastic machine. Pure pleasure to drive. Did I say that yet?
  • Regenerative Braking – I love this. I have it set to the highest level and 95% of the time I only use the right pedal (can’t very well call it the gas pedal) to go faster or slower.
  • Roomy – Five adults with no bother (No noticeable loss of performance :o)
  • Comfy – Heated and vented front seats.
  • Super safety features (inc all round air bags and sensors).
  • Cheap servicing – Five years up front cost £290.83
  • An incredible amount of electronic features.
  • Three driving modes. Eco, Normal and Sport.
  • Range. I am mainly using Normal (and occasionally Sport mode :o). The more it learns about my driving style the more I’m getting from each charge. After four cold frosty days and two charges my initial range has increased from 91 miles (at delivery) to 135 miles. I expect that to increase with warmer weather and Eco mode.

 

Cons

None for the Ioniq itself. It’s a fantastic machine… Sorry off topic for a moment.

The problems I’ve had were due to Hyundai’s launch team.

  • No EV manuals (for staff or customer) were available!
  • There are an incredible amount of electronic features, most of which I have had to work out for myself. I have a copy of the Hybrid manual but it doesn’t address my EV specific questions.
  • No service manual available at delivery.
  • The delivery Check list that we worked through prior to my acceptance of the car didn’t include unplugging it from a charge point (Double clicking the unlock button seems to be the answer). Having a manual would have helped. A lot.

 

Overcoming Range Anxiety

I’m currently running the battery down to reset my anxiety level.

Previously if my diesel was down to 30 miles I became anxious because it gave no further indication of range and I’d top it up pronto. With the far more accurate range indicator of my Ioniq I am comfortable driving towards ’empty’ confident in what it’s telling me.

 

Being an EV owner

What can I say? I am very, very pleased. Almost smug.

Compared to my Kia Cee’d (£60 per fill and rising) it’s wonderful getting my fuel from home and it only costing £8 in instalments* to travel the same distance.

We are planning to tour the UK soon and hope to take full advantage of being an Ecotricity customer (Rapid free charging at motorway service stations). I’ll let you know.

My thanks to Trevor Larkum for guiding me through the transition to EV driving. I think everyone should have a knowledgeable friend when going electric. His help has taken the fear out of this.

Thanks also to Bletchley Hyundai for supplying the car so quickly and their unwavering support for the lack of manuals.

*Three charges 🙂

[The next part is here.]