Tesla may be generating all the buzz when it comes to electric vehicles in America, but over in Europe it’s all about Renault. In fact, one in four EVs on the road in Europe (and half in France) are Renaults. And now the French automaker has delivered its 100,000th EV.
The landmark vehicle is a Zoe, one of Renault’s smallest and most popular electric models. It was handed over on Friday to 41-year-old Åsmund Gillebo in Oslo, capital of Norway that’s one of the company’s biggest EV markets (alongside France, Germany and the UK). To celebrate the milestone, Gillebo was presented with five years of free recharging from local energy supplier Fortim, and 100,000 minutes from rival Grønn Kontakt.
Renault lays claim to the biggest EV lineup on the market. In addition to the Zoe, it offers the Twizy urban commuter (including a cargo version) and the Kangoo ZE electric van. Though discontinued elsewhere, it manufactures and markets the Fluence ZE in South Korea through Renault Samsung Motors as the SM3 ZE.
The Zoe stands as the top-selling EV in Europe with over 23 percent market share. The Kangoo ZE is Europe’s best-selling electric utility vehicle. And the SM3 ZE is the best-selling EV in Korea. In the first half of this year, Renault sold 15,000 electric vehicles, representing a 32-percent increase over the previous year – and that’s not even counting the Twizy.
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