'Silent' electric vehicle in Renault's sights

'Silent' electric vehicle in Renault's sights

The launch of the new addition to Renault's electric vehicle range is sure to go with a whisper rather than a bang early next year in the UK.

So far, Renault has seen rather poor sales in the UK for it's current electric vehicles. The Twizy, Kangoo van and Fluence saloon have not been reaching the carmaker's sales expectations, in spite of the economical running costs that each of the models offers to their owners. With this in mind, the French car giant is setting it's sights high with it's new model, the Zoe, and is hoping it's reception will be better.

The Zoe is a small hatchback, driven by a battery, and Renault is highlighting how quietly the vehicle runs in most of it's launch literature. The global sales and marketing director for Renault, Stephen Norman, has commented: "The message is going to be one of silence. We're not pleased about the level of sales but we are the European market leaders and, with Nissan, world leaders."

He also attributed the slow uptake of electric vehicles in the UK to the lack of recharge points and the infrastructure needed to support drivers of electric cars. There has been some improvement this year in the number of charge points available to motorists, but these have mainly been restricted to the London and South East England areas. Despite these obstacles, Mr Norman said he didn't think there was any "cultural" resistance to driving electric vehicles in the UK marketplace.

You can reserve a Renault Zoe for as little as £49: http://www.renault-ze.com/en-gb/z.e.-range/zoe/renault-zoe-expression-1944.html

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