The Flins plant in the Paris region will be the new home of Renault’s zero emission electric city car the Zoe ZE Concept.

The vehicle, which was initially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, is an urban, versatile model that is expected to account for two thirds of the company’s electric vehicle sales in Europe.

France will be the centre of Renault’s zero emission strategy with the group focusing on developing future electric vehicles at its Technocentre in Guyancourt. It has also signed a letter of intent with Nissan, France’s Strategic Investment Fund and the Atomic Energy Commission to set up a joint venture that will focus on electric vehicle battery advanced research as well as industrialisation and recycling.

The plant in Flins has been chosen because it has previously specialised in the production of B segment cars including the New Clio and the Clio Campus. Renault has also outlined an objective to produce cars as close as possible to the markets in which they will be sold, which made the Flins plant ideal for logistical reasons.

It is expected that Flins will now be a central hub for Renault’s electric vehicle activity and will be utilised to produce its core range of electric models as well as being put to use for manufacturing and recycling batteries.