Slough Borough Council has purchased three Renault Zoe EV vehicles as staff pool cars.

The purchase follows Slough Borough Council’s ‘journey to clean air’ initiative, as part of its low emissions strategy.

The pool car scheme is part of Slough’s wider fleet challenge programme, providing ‘environmentally friendly’ solutions for staff travel to meetings, site inspections and client visits. This all helps towards Slough’s aim to decarbonise its fleet.

Leader of Slough Borough Council Cllr Sohail Munawar said:

“The fleet challenge is just one of the ways we are making a difference to our communities and our environment. By introducing a pool of both ultra-low emissions electric cars and e-bikes, we are moving towards that goal.

“Forty staff tried the Renault Zoe and the feedback was excellent. They found it easy to drive and the controls clear and simple to understand. The charging lead is easy to connect and the range the car offers makes it ideal as a pool car.

The three Zoe Dynamique iNav R90 Z.E.40 models were sourced through Renault Croydon and have been fitted with the optional rear-view parking camera.”

Groupe Renault UK’s national fleet manager Mark Potter said:

“We’re delighted that Slough Borough Council has chosen the Renault Zoe as its first electric pool car. The Zoe creates no emissions at the tailpipe, and with the 250-mile range (NEDC) available from its Z.E.40 battery, it will be able to complete return journeys across the borough without needing to stop and charge up again. We are sure staff will also enjoy its smooth, quiet performance and fun character.”

Source: FleetNews

Renault received commendations in two categories at last night’s Auto Express Awards with ZOE in the Electric Award category and All-New Grand Scénic in the Best MPV category.

The Renault ZOE, fitted with the new 250-mile range (NEDC) Z.E.40 battery, was commended in the Electric Award category. The Renault ZOE’s new Z.E. 40 battery delivers almost double the range of the previous battery, providing motorists with an electric vehicle option that is better suited to many lifestyles with the average daily commuting distance being well within the ZOE’s capabilities.

The All-New Grand Scénic, recently launched in the UK, was commended in the Best MPV category.

Commenting on the commendations, Graham Hope, Editor at Auto Express said: “The ZOE is doing a great job of making electric motoring a realistic option for more and more buyers. With its increased range, it makes running an EV viable for many, it doesn’t cost the earth to own and it’s an enjoyable car to drive, too.

Vincent Tourette, Managing Director, Groupe Renault UK, said of the results:

“The 2017 ZOE with the Z.E.40 battery, as well as interior and exterior upgrades, builds on its previous success and now delivers the longest range of any mainstream electric vehicle. We’re delighted that Auto Express have commended these as vehicles in their respective segments.”

Read more: Fleet Point

If you’re looking for a true game-changing company in the automotive arena, it’s the Renault-Nissan Alliance, not Tesla, that has a firm grasp on the future.

With all the talk of climate change and the Paris Agreement, ask yourself if you’ve ever heard of the Renault Zoe. Probably not. It’s an electric vehicle (EV) sold by French automaker Renault. It’s also the most popular EV in Europe and is mechanically similar to the Nissan Leaf we have here in the U.S. So why should you care about this French EV? One simple reason: Automakers are serving a global market whether they like it or not and Renault-Nissan will soon be setting the agenda for EVs around the world. Partly thanks to partnerships between Nissan, Renault and now Mitsubishi, the Zoe is the perfect barometer for global EV success or failure.

According to CleanTechnica, an EV website, of the top-selling EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in Europe, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi have the top three spots for in 2016 and that trend continues into 2017. In total, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi vehicles make up 6 of the top 30 spots, including some oddballs like the Outlander PHEV, Renault Kangoo ZE and Nissan e-NV200. Only VW Group has more total vehicles in the top 30.

EVs Replace Diesel?

Eventually, EVs will replace diesel as the budget and eco-friendly option. Last year, I spoke to a Renault-Nissan executive, and he said that affordable diesel-powered small cars are likely the first to gradually disappear given the stricter emissions regulations coming to the E.U. The main reason is that the cost of compliance is getting to be a serious obstacle. In short, as emissions requirements become increasingly stringent, the cost of building compliant cars will go up. The U.S. pulling out of the Paris Agreement won’t change automakers’ global strategy, but China deferring compliance until 2030 may remove some of the urgency of the agreement.

The first area to feel this will be small, typically inexpensive cars where the buyers are very price-conscious. Renault-Nissan Alliance Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn echoed those sentiments at a press conference at the Paris Auto Show in 2016. And judging by his comments and how he essentially spun every emissions question into a talking point about EVs and the Zoe/Leaf, the next version of that car will likely put the Renault-Nissan Alliance in the catbird seat when it comes to global EV sales.

Maybe they’re already there: If budget friendly, diesel-sipping small cars go away, the next best option for budget-strapped motorists is an EV like the Zoe. According to Forbes, Renault-Nissan is on track to sell nearly 10.5 million vehicles in 2017, second only to Toyota. Therefore, Alliance decisions and innovations are bound to have a ripple effect on the global automotive marketplace.

Read more: Huffington Post

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, alternative fuel vehicles (AFV’s) in the Europe Union are off to a very strong start in the first quarter of this year, increasing their numbers sold by 37.6% to 212,945 vehicles.

Hybrid vehicles (HEV) showed the biggest growth with 61.2% versus the same period last year, now counting 111,006 units. Electrically chargeable vehicles (ECV = BEV and plug-in hybrids) grew with 29.9% from 36,322 units sold in Q1, 2016 to 47,196 units in Q1, 2017. This includes 49% growth for “battery-only” (BEV’s) to 24,592 units sold and 13% growth for the plug-in hybrids (21,644 units). The U.S. market showed a similar growth of 49% for electric car sales to 40,700 units sold in the first quarter according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The American car market is about 16% larger.

All the major markets in the EU added many new AFV registrations over the first three months. Spain showed the largest increase (+87.4%) over the first quarter of 2017 followed by Germany (+67.5%), the UK (+29.9%), France (+24.8%) and Italy (17.2$). The growth in Italy is due in large part to the recovery in LPG-fuelled (natural gas) cars, but for the other markets, the growth is mostly the result of strong sales in electrically chargeable vehicles (ECV’s or BEV’s) and hybrid-electric (plug-in hybrids).

New passenger car registrations by alternative fuel type in the European Union during the first quarter of 2017.

Looking at electric- or battery-only car sales in Europe reported by the European Alternative Fuels Observatory, we see that the improved Renault Zoe is the number one seller by far, followed by the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, Tesla Model S and X and the others.

Read more: Electrek

The introduction of a new longer-range Renault ZOE 40 Z.E. with 41 kWh battery and 300 km (186 miles) of real world range has translated into “higher highs” being set for sale…until this month.

April disappointed with just around 1,690 ZOE deliveries (a drop of 14.5% year-over-year).

In general, overall Renault electric car – mostly relied on ZOE – also decreased to 1,931 (down 18%).

Thankfully, sources indicate that April’s hiccup was not demand-related, but rather build-related.

And while we don’t ever wish for production flaws, or recalls, deliveries during the month where muted thanks to a defective part installed on cars produced before April 19th.

The repair (to do with locking the vehicle in parking mode using the handbrake) apparently isn’t the most simple fix, reportedly taking from 6-8 hours to rectify, and the company says it will likely take until the end of June to work all the issues out of the system.

New vehicles now coming of Renault’s Flins assembly line are not effected, but it may take another month to see sales rebound and return to previous trajectories.

With that said, and after four months, Renault has still sold nearly 12,000 electric cars (excluding Twizy), which is 29% more than year ago.

Source: Inside EVs

The Renault ZOE has received the ‘Game Changer’ award by Autocar judges at the world’s oldest motoring magazine’s annual awards ceremony at Silverstone.

The Renault ZOE, fitted with the new 250-mile range (NEDC) Z.E.40 battery, has been recognised at the Autocar Awards 2017 as a true innovator in the ever-growing electric vehicle market. The Renault ZOE’s new Z.E.

40 battery delivers almost double the range of the previous battery, providing motorists with an electric vehicle option that is better suited to many lifestyles with the average daily commuting distance being well within the ZOE’s capabilities.

Renault, as Europe’s best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer, believes in giving the customer confidence in their use of electric vehicles by estimating ZOE’s real-world range as 186 miles.

Renault, as Europe’s best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer, believes in giving the customer confidence in their use of electric vehicles by estimating ZOE’s real-world range as 186 miles.

Commenting on the decision to award the ZOE Autocar’s ‘Game Changer’ award, Mark Tisshaw, Editor, Autocar said:

“The new Renault ZOE is an important step in bringing affordable electric motoring to the masses. An already good car has been improved further, now coming with a real-world range that extends close to 200 miles to make it a more viable everyday proposition for more people. We commend Renault for that, and

An already good car has been improved further, now coming with a real-world range that extends close to 200 miles to make it a more viable everyday proposition for more people. We commend Renault for that, and recognise the ZOE as a trailblazer for electric cars.”

Vincent Tourette, Managing Director, Renault UK, said of the result:

“The Renault ZOE has always excelled at providing motorists with a stylish, comfortable and practical electric car at an affordable price tag. The 2017 ZOE with the Z.E.40 battery, as well as interior and exterior upgrades, builds on this success and now delivers the longest range of any mainstream electric vehicle.”

Read more: Fleet Point