In the nine months since 1 January 2012 Renault’s best-selling pure electric vehicle in its Z.E. range has been the Twizy two-seat quadricycle, of which 7,891 units have been registered to date. Of the Twizy total, 2,126 have been sold in Germany and 1,890 in France.
The more outwardly conventional Fluence Z.E. had sold 1,663 units by the end of September, of which 1,090 were supplied to customers in France. But the model appears not to be increasing in popularity in its home market – sales totalled 38 units in September this year, compared with 109 units registered in the same month a year earlier, although globally, Fluence sales were stable at 125 in September 2012 against 124 a year earlier.
The Kangoo Z.E. has sold 4,179 units in the year to date, compared to a total of 295 in 2011, and September saw Kangoo Z.E. sales rise to 507 units against 109 a year earlier. The Kangoo’s future sales will be accounted for in large part by a 15,000-unit order placed by France’s official central purchasing body Ugap on behalf of various government agencies and utilities.
Renault’s total EV sales since January come to 13,737 units, which represents 0.7% of total global vehicle sales of 1,925,002. Le Journal de l’Automobile, reporting these data on 29 October, suggests, “The road to the OEM’s Z.E. target of 10% of sales by 2020 remains a long one.”
Renault’s next Z.E. model, the Zoe hatchback, to be supplied with the battery pack rented rather than integral to the vehicle bought, has been priced to achieve total cost of ownership directly comparable with an equivalent diesel model, and is accordingly expected to hoist Z.E. sales volumes significantly.
