It was just last year that the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on electric vehicles – and now Europcar has pre-ordered a whopping 500 Renault electric vehicles.
The cars will be delivered to Europe’s largest cities beginning in the third quarter of 2011 and will consist of the four show-cars that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show – namely the Twizy ZE Concept, the Fluence ZE Concept, the Kangoo ZE and the Zoe ZE Concept.
The market launch of the vehicles occurs in 2011 with three models – a family saloon car, a small city car and an LCV-version of the Kangoo for fleets and business users. Then in 2012, a compact four-metre, five seat saloon car will join the range.
It is expected that Renault will continue to expand its electric vehicle offerings beyond 2012 in an effort to meet the needs of a diverse range of customers. According to Renault Corporate Division’s senior vice president Uwe Hochgeschurtz, the company hopes that short-term rentals will allow it to gain leverage in the market and help drive the adoption of electric vehicles by individual customers.
