Renault and Nissan are serious about electric vehicles. Nissan’s Leaf is an appreciated car, and it is selling, just not as well as originally anticipated. However, it will soon be joined by the electric version of the NV200 commercial vehicle, so that may boost sales considerably for them. Renault isn’t doing too well in the sector, though, having shifted 24,688 units through last month.
The French automaker, which currently makes the Twizy, Fluence and Kangoo EV, as well as the all-new Zoe, will miss its sales targets for the year, as well as the final goal set by group CEO Carlos Ghosn, 1.5-million combined Renault-Nissan EV sales by the end of the 2016 fiscal year (March 1, 2017).
Still, the Japanese side is doing better, having sold a total of 62,000 Leafs since the car’s debut in 2010. Sales will steadily pick up in time, but we say they will have to wait a lot longer than what they’re planning for in order to reach the desired figure – 2016 is just a fantasy at the current rate.
Keen to boost its appeal in Europe, Nissan has made a total of 100 changes to the EV, in order to make it more appealing for Old Continent tastes. The most important of these changes is the increase in range, which is up from 175 km to 200 km (109 to 124 miles), as well as the modified suspension setup, and most importantly, cutting the production costs, which allows them to sell the car cheaper, and therefore more of them.
By Andrei Nedelea
Story References: Autonews Europe
Note: Renault Twizy Renault Sport F1 pictured – one of the brand’s attempts to popularize their EVs…
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