Renault Joins The Electric Car Race

Saturday, 5. November 2011

Image via Wikipedia

Renault have now launched details of their new electric car, the Fluence Z.E. It will be sold for £22,850 down to £17,850 after the £5,000 government incentive. However, the difference between the Nissan Leaf and the Renault is the fact that when you buy the Leaf you also buy the batteries, with the Renault you buy the car and lease the batteries. The lease costs depend on the annual mileage ant the term over which you want the car. The cheapest option is 6,000 miles per annum over 3, 4 or 5 years at a monthly cost of £69.60.

If you move up to 15,000 miles PA the price can be up to £120.60 per month. At 9,000 miles per annum over 3 years it would cost £81 per month.

This compares to £108 per month on diesel doing the same mileage at 45mpg. Of course this is fine whilst electricity is provided free of charge but there is no mention of the effect if you use your household electricity.

Renault promise to deliver batteries with at least 75% of the capacity plus a recovery service if you run out of power. An interesting move, let’s see if this makes EV’s more desirable. Incidentally the spec is set at Prime Time, including air con, cruise control, sat nav, automatic lights and wipers. By Graham Hill