French car manufacturer Renault has joined forces with a host of companies to establish an e-mobility project in the Rhine-Ruhr region.

The project’s aim is to integrate electric mobility into everyday traffic along the A40 motorway. Charging infrastructure will be built in the towns of Mulheim, Essen and Dortmund by mid-2011 and data will be collected to enable the development of marketable products, including GPS devices, with a clear charging station overview.

The vehicle fleet includes 40 Renault pre-production electric vehicles and 110 converted electric cars, based on the Fiat 500 and Karabag 500E that RWE will provide as lease vehicles.

The Renault models expected to be incorporated into the project include the Kangoo Express zero emission utility vehicle and the Fluence zero emission mid-range family saloon car. Both of the vehicles are expected to be launched in Europe in 2011 and are capable of a range of 160km with both standard and quick charging available. As an added bonus, Fluence batteries can also be exchanged using the quick-drop system.

The project will receive support from the German Ministry for Traffic, Construction and Urban Development to the tune of around €7million. Participants in the scheme include RWE Effizienz GmbH; Renault Deutschland AG; automotive engineering research company Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftfahrwesen mbH Aachen (fka); and the Institut für Hochspannungstechnik (High-Voltage Engineering Institute) of RWTH Aachen University.

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.

Regular readers of our news section will be used to stories about the Renault-Nissan Alliance signing partnerships with governments, cities and utility companies around the world to further its electric vehicle push.

However, the latest partner for Renault is quite different – this time the French carmaker is teaming with global elevator company Schindler.

The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to support the adoption of electric vehicles, most specifically in fleet applications. In fact, it’s not the first time that the firms have worked together having been partners since 2002 when Schindler selected Renault to supply its fleet with 16,000 vehicles, the majority of which are used by technicians who maintain the company’s elevators and escalators. 

Now, with the latest agreement, Schindler is signalling its interest in buying or leasing electric vehicles from the future Renault range.

However, the partnership is unlikely to end there as Schindler will be part of a pilot group that will test the first Renault zero-emission vehicles due to be produced before the end of the year. The test will be used by Renault to analyse customer utilisation and fine tune its fleet business.

Having already established numerous partnerships with governments and municipalities around the world, the Renault-Nissan Alliance has added another high profile city to its list of partners.

This time it is the turn of Orlando and the Orlando Utilities Commission which have agreed to join the Alliance in promoting the development of an electric vehicle charging network, as well as policies to support the adoption of electric cars.

Under the terms of the agreement, the company will help develop plans to promote a charging infrastructure for electric cars that is meant to encourage both home and workplace charging as well as public charging infrastructure. The partners will also attempt to co-ordinate policies and help streamline charging infrastructure deployment.

Nissan will make a supply of electric vehicles available to the city, as well as in and around the metropolitan area of Orange County, Florida. Meanwhile, the Orlando Utilities Commission has agreed to buy up to 10 Nissan LEAF vehicles for its fleet to be used for both service calls and educational purposes.

Nissan, along with Renault, remains the only major car manufacturer committed to making electric vehicles available to the mass market on a global scale with plans to release the Nissan LEAF later this year.

If electric cars are to move beyond being a niche product and become mainstream it’s paramount to develop electric car charging infrastructure – something that Renault-Nissan is taking the lead on.

Nissan Motor Company Ltd has now signed a memorandum of understanding with All Japan Ryokan Association to develop charging infrastructure in hotels affiliated with the association as well as initiating a study in creating new demand in the hotel industry with the promotion of electric vehicles.

The partnership will focus on developing charging infrastructure; planning, development and sales of new travel packages focused on zero emissions and electric vehicles; and provide information on charging stations, vacancies in hotels and an instant reservation service. 

According to Nobuyuki Sato, the president of the All Japan Ryokan Association, the charging facilities – which will be installed in around 18,000 hotels – will greatly contribute to tourists who want the opportunity to charge their electric vehicle during their stay. He believes it will give tourists an added sense of confidence.

Furthering its rapidly developing environmental image, Renault has launched the new eco2 business model for its customers in France.

According to the criteria, all models under the Renault eco2 banner must have CO2 emissions of less than 140g/km or be powered by biofuel; be produced in an ISO 14001 certified plant; and be 95 per cent recoverable at the end of their life with at least five per cent recycled plastic content.

Currently, the business eco2 range consists of eight models: the Clio, Clio Estate, New Megane Hatch and Estate, New Scenic and Grand Scenic, New Laguna Hatchback and Estate. The Fluence and Clio emitting 98g/km of CO2 will also be added to the line-up at a later date.

The entire eco2 range is also fitted with the new Carminat TomTom that rationalises journeys and optimises transport times while minimising fuel consumption.

How times have changed. If anything was learned from this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit it was that the motoring industry is not what it used to be.

Attendees in previous years may have fond memories of the deafening music, smoke and dancing girls that accompanied a new model. However, at this year’s event there was less of the razzamatazz and more of a focus, as it became clear that manufacturers are in a race to market electric cars.

Though the most noteworthy electric vehicle currently available, the Tesla Roadster, doesn’t come cheap at $109,000, by the end of 2010 it will be joined by a host of affordable new options. Indeed whether they are established giants such as GM, Renault-Nissan and Ford, or relative upstarts like Fisker, the market has clearly moved towards marketing electric cars.

Who are the contenders?

The manufacturers that are intent on bringing electric vehicles to fruition reads like a who’s who of the automotive world:

• BMW: The German car maker could steal a march in the luxury sector with its Concept ActiveE, a plug-in version of the BMW 1 Series coupe. It has also electrified the MINI for a test programme.
• Coda Automotive: A relative unknown at the moment, Coda may soon establish itself as a household name with its battery powered saloon car with batteries from its joint venture in China. It will launch with an internet marketing strategy in California only, but is expected to have the capacity to produce 20,000 cars a year.
• Fisker Automotive: Seen as Tesla’s closest competitor, Fisker will debut its high performance plug-in hybrid known as the Karma later this year and is working on a lower cost option known as Project NINA having been boosted by a loan from the Department of Energy (see article).
• Ford: It plans to introduce a plug-in version of the Focus from 2011 and a next generation hybrid based on its global compact car platform from 2012. As announced at the Detroit Motor Show, Michigan will be the focal point of its electrification strategy with the company planning to invest $450million in the state (see article).
• General Motors: You can’t talk about GM these days without mentioning the Chevrolet Volt, to be known in Europe as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera, which uses a petrol engine to generate electricity for its electric motor. The car will go on sale before the end of the year for $40,000; and a Cadillac range-extended model is also planned (see article).
• Mitsubishi: Having enjoyed success with its’ i-MiEV electric vehicle on home turf, Mitsubishi has established a partnership with PSA Peugeot Citroen to bring the car to Europe in the form of the Peugeot i0n and Citroen C-ZERO. Last week it also announced plans to help build 1,000 charging stations across Japan (see article).
• Renault-Nissan Alliance: Perhaps no other automaker has been as focused on electric vehicles as Renault-Nissan. Not only will the company deploy the 100mile all-electric range LEAF this year (see article), but it is working in partnership with Better Place to deploy a Renault electric vehicle as part of a plan to boost infrastructure around the world; and it is partnering with AeroVironment to build a home charger.
• Tesla Motors: Super-car performance from an electric car – if you didn’t think it was possible, then the Tesla Roadster is active proof that it can be done. Now the company is on a roll having secured DOE funding for its Model S saloon car (see article).
• Think Global: In many respects Think is the greatest reminder of how far electric cars have come. Having been sold by Ford in 2003 and undergoing bankruptcy proceedings in late 2008 it has since bounced back with partial ownership of US battery company Ener1 and plans to introduce the two-seat Think City, which will sell for less than $20,000 (with a Federal tax credit), in the US later this year.

Add to this list the likes of Toyota with its plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles (see article); Chrysler which has ambitious electric car rollout plans now its merger with Fiat is complete; Honda with the exciting CR-Z Concept (see article); and even Audi with electric e-tron vehicles (see article); and it’s clear that the electrification of the automobile is under way.

So is the revolution here?

Del Boy Trotter was famous for saying “this time next year Rodney, we’ll be millionaires.” Indeed enthusiasts of electric cars could be accused of similar misplaced optimism after so many false starts.

However, now serious government investment through loans, grants and tax credits, coupled with a host of green energy programmes, is paying off, and while the implementation of infrastructure to charge these vehicles remains a major stumbling block (albeit one that is being addressed, slowly) it seems that… this time next year… there will be plenty of electric cars to choose from.

Faye Sunderland

Renault’s alliance with Nissan may well mean that the two are making progress towards a cleaner tomorrow through the development of electric cars, but with nothing due to hit the roads until 2011, what about today?

Well, Renault has the answer, introducing its cleanest ever Clio, in fact its cleanest production car full stop, set to produce just 98g/km of C02, bringing it in line with many the most popular greener hatchbacks such as the SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive, Volvo C30 and Skoda Fabia GreenLine.

The host of refinements to boost fuel efficiency don’t just mean a 17g per km reduction in CO2 but also mean that the Clio can achieve an amazing 76.3 mpg. Renault made a series of improvements to the aerodynamic, engine and tyres to eek out the miles to a tank, among other things reducing co-efficient drag from 0.725 to 0.69 CdA.

Better still; the carmaker says the new Clio dCi 86 eco2 will cost the same as the current 115g/km C02 versions, giving added incentive to go green. This move below the 100g/km tax threshold doesn’t just mean that the new Clio will be road tax free but means it also offers theoretical range of 923 miles between fill-ups.

Its greenest production car yet, the French carmaker will offer the new model in three- and five-door guise.  The Clio’s range of petrol engine options has also recently boosted by the introduction of a Euro5-compliant TCe 100 with CO2 emissions reduced to 129g/km, representing a gain of 8g/km. This will also save owners £150 in road tax from April.

Details of the new model have been released ahead of its unveiling at the Brussels Motor Show which opens to the press tomorrow.

It will be available to order in France from 9th February but Renault are keeping quiet about when it will be available to order here, simply stating ‘later this year in UK’.

While the world’s leaders debate climate change at the Copenhagen summit, 14 major cities have come together to form the C40 Electric Vehicle Network at the Climate Summit for Mayors in the Danish capital.

The initial members of the network will be: Bogota, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Copenhagen, Delhi, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Seoul and Sydney. They will collaborate with four vehicle manufacturers and the Clinton Climate Initiative to focus on the developments needed to make electric vehicles a reality for day-to-day commuters.

The cities will plan and deploy charging infrastructure and related electricity supply systems; work with stakeholders to streamline processes associated with charging equipment; co-ordinate monetary and non-monetary incentives to the general public and organisations; and develop a plan to mobilise demand for electric vehicles for the period 2010-2013.

The four manufacturers involved are BYD Auto, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan and Renault. They will inform cities on electric vehicle policies as well as vehicle procurement and infrastructure investments. As part of the C40’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the city of Hong Kong will also host a workshop on electric vehicles in 2010.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has now formed partnerships with more than 40 governments, cities and other organisations around the world after adding two more projects to its list.

Nissan has signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly promote zero emission mobility with the Japanese city of Kita-Kyushu; while the Alliance has formed a partnership with the State Government of New South Wales in Australia.

The project in Kita-Kyushu will be known as the Environment and Technology Town ‘e-Frontier Project’, which has the aim of creating a low carbon society through the mass introduction of electric vehicles. A joint study will focus on: the position of the city as a ‘global eco capital’ with greater regional development formed in a sustainable way; to position the city as the ‘technology capital in Asia’ through sustainable innovations; and to promote awareness of the environment.

In Australia the two organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding that will see a team of representatives from the New South Wales Government and Nissan identify areas for potential co-operation to promote the use of electric vehicles in the State.

The company now has projects in Japan, the US, Europe, Asia and Australasia.