Sales of the Renault Zoe electric supermini are expected to be way below the automaker’s target, with market analyst Inovev estimating 10,000 deliveries or 40,000 less than what Renault is rumored to have set as a goal for 2013.
Although Renault didn’t confirm or deny the target of 50,000 sales for the Zoe this year, Inovev told Autonews Europe that the number was provided by multiple high-ranking Renault executives. Earlier this year, Renault-Nissan announced that it would not meet its goal of selling 1.5 million electric vehicles worldwide by 2016. The alliance has not set any new targets yet, a spokesman said.
Renault sold 6,600 Zoes in the first nine months of the year, with the supermini being the brand’s best-selling electric vehicle, ahead of the Fluence Z.E. sedan, Kangoo Z.E. small van and Twizy two-seat model.
Inovev believes consumers will become more interested in EVs once there are more public places available to plug in cars. “We think that the Zoe and EVs in general will continue to become a popular alternative to combustion engine cars, especially in urban environments, as charging stations become more available. But that will happen slower than what Renault forecast,” Inovev CEO Michel Costes told the news publication.
Analysts at IHS Automotive estimate that Renault will sell 23,434 Zoe EVs in 2014 and 25,843 units in 2015. However, the target of 50,000 sales a year won’t be met before 2020.
By Dan Mihalascu
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