It's not a good week for small, cute electric cars. A few days ago we had to shed a few tears when we heard that the Honda is no longer receiving requests from Europeans who want a Honda E. And now another little one that was early in the electric age is disappearing. Renault will soon stop building the Zoe.
Over the past eleven years, the Renault Zoe – brotherly next to the Nissan Leaf – has tried to dispel prejudices about electric driving. Initially you could only order it with a battery that you had to lease. That turned out not to be a success and so the battery was simply included in the sales price. Ultimately, approximately 15,000 Zoe's were registered in the Netherlands.
Until when can I order a Renault Zoe?
For the time being you can still order the car in the Netherlands and Belgium. Production of the Renault Zoe will stop on March 30, 2024 and sales will continue while supplies last. Renault admits that the Zoe must make way for the reincarnation of the Renault 5. The French car brand has already shown some teasers of the production version of the 5 that will be unveiled in Geneva next year.
The latest version of the Renault Zoe received a 52-kWh battery, exactly the same size as the one in the R5. Both also have an equivalent range of about 250 miles. For the Renault Zoe you pay at least 34,895 euros in the Netherlands (from which a 2,950 euro subsidy is deducted) and in Belgium it costs 36,375 euros. The 5 should be a bit below this with a price around 25,000 euros.
The future of the small Renault EV could get a German touch
The Renault Group has been busy enough lately. With Dacia she introduced a completely new Duster and the subsidiary brand is also working on a Dakar Rally super team. In addition, the German newspaper reported Handelsblatt the news that Renault is in 'early discussions' with VW about a collaboration. The goal: produce the ID.2 and Twingo together cheaply.
At first glance, Volkswagen and Renault are like Feyenoord and Ajax, but the two need each other to make a small, cheap EV. Chinese car brands (let's say, for the metaphor, PSV) seem difficult to beat, which is why the European brands want to make a pact. Retrospectively, this also makes sense if you read an earlier quote from Renault boss Luca de Meo.
'We are confident that it will [de Renault Twingo red.] is a potential game-changer, because we know we do well with these types of projects. We are in discussions with OEM partners to share development costs,” De Meo said. A press release from both brands with the title 'TwinUp' is due any day now.
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