Renault has completed a large-scale operation to promote electric transport in Slovenia. In partnership with CONOT, the Slovenian centre for the development of low-carbon technologies and member of National Chemical Institute, ZOE was tested under real-life driving conditions throughout the country over an eight-month period.
The survey found that ZOE could replace around 20% of cars on the Slovenian roads. Renault’s all-electric model has an NEDC-cycle range of 210 km (with the Q210 power unit) or 240 km (with the R240), which amounts to around 100 km-170 km under real-life driving conditions. This is sufficient to fully meet the everyday needs of 20% of Slovenian motorists.
During the operation Renault also took part in a two-month project with the Ljubljana section of the Slovenian Forestry Commission, responsible for managing the forests, greatly appreciated by the local population, in the region around the Slovenian capital. Slovenia has the third largest forest cover of any European country, with woodland accounting for 60% of the national territory.
Forestry Commission personnel tested Kangoo Z.E. under the toughest conditions, on hilly terrain and poor road surfaces, throughout the winter. The results were highly positive, showing that the Kangoo ZE range (170 km NEDC, or 80-125 km actual) easily met the everyday working needs of the forest guards, and confirming Kangoo Z.E.’s capabilities to handle rough terrain. The quiet-running van was also appreciated by walkers in woods.
This highly instructive project also proves that electric cars are not exclusively confined to urban usages, and that they are perfectly capable of duty under difficult conditions.
Ljubljana will be Green Capital of Europe in 2016, in recognition of the Slovenian city’s work on environment awareness, sustainable development strategy, urban ecology measures, and public transport.
Electric vehicles to counter climate change
Renault is the pioneer of affordable all-electric vehicles, and the only automaker to offer a full range of electric models. For Renault, the electric vehicle is an eminently viable solution to combat global warming. Because they do not burn fossil fuels, electric vehicles emit no CO21. ZOE emits 0 g/km of CO2 whereas an internal-combustion or hybrid vehicle of the same size would emit at least 84 g/km.
According to the International Energy Commission, with 7 million electric vehicles on the road by 2012 we would save 400,000 barrels of oil per day. Very specifically, without the electric vehicles that Renault has sold so far, an additional 115,000 tonnes of CO2 would have been emitted into the atmosphere, and an additional 230,450 barrels of oil burned (average per year2).
The Renault-Nissan Alliance is an official partner of COP21, the United Nations summit on climate change; a fleet of 200 Alliance electric vehicles, including 100 Renault ZOEs, will be ferrying delegates between Paris and Le Bourget from 30 November to 11 December 2015.
