A Renault ZOE with 350 km of autonomy in 2014
Even though the first commercial version of the car will be presented at the Geneva Car Show, a second version of this Renault electric vehicle is in development: with 350km of planned autonomy.
BFM Business announced today that Renault is working on a second version of the ZOE, with new batteries being developed, which permit an autonomy of 350km. This record level of autonomy allows for an expansion of electric vehicle usage.
This information is to be taken with a pinch of sale as I haven’t seen any source other than the BFM article on this matter. The Renault site states that the first model of the ZOE will have 160km of autonomy, while our sources state that it will be rather around 200km.
The Geneva Car Show may give us the occasion to confirm that the second generation ZOE is planned for 2014, with production at the Flins site. An autonomy of 350kms would be excellent progress for electric vehicle usage, and should provoke the competition.
We can even imagine that the first generation ZOEs will be equipped with batteries that can be exchanged for higher performing ones at a later stage, for a higher monthly rental fee.
I’m impatient to get some more details on this ZOE v2 as well as a confirmation from Renault.
Source : BFM Business
Update on 15/02/2012 at 16:30: When contacted by our editors, Renault did not wish to comment on this information
Update on 17/02/2012 at 08:00: The 350km autonomy rumor has been confirmed by Carlos Tavares, the Chief Operating Officer of Renault, in a BFM Business radio interview this morning. He also explained that the car would be the magic key for Renault to conquer the Chinese market.
Update on 17/02/2012 at 17:35: Having re-listened to the interview on BFM Business, it appears that Carlos Tavares neither confirms nor denies the 350km autonomy fact, contrary to what we stated earlier today, based on information provided by a trusted listener. I apologize for this incorrect assertion, and I invite our readers to listen to the interview with Carlos Tavares on BFM Business (link valid on day posted). We will certainly get confirmation of this information during the Geneva Car Show.
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