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Renault Eolab Concept Is Ready for Production, but the Market Isn't Right

Timing is everything in the auto industry, but even though green technology seems to play a crucial part at the moment, Renault is delaying the launch of its Eolab model until the market is ready.
Renault Eolab Hybrid 25 photos
Photo: Catalin Garmacea
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Speaking at a press conference, the Renault chief performance officer Jerome Stoll said the production version of the Eolab concept shown last year is ready. However, it won't be launched yet.

According to him, less than 1% of the cars on France's roads are hybrids, so the market isn't large enough to justify production. Renault is dependent on France and other large European markets for sales and profit. Unlike Toyota, which sells the Prius globally, the Clio maker's can't tap into the lucrative California or Japan markets.

The Eolab will go on sale "as soon as the market is ready," according to Automotive News. Why should you be excited? Because engineers claim that it can sip only 1 liter of fuel for each 100 kilometers (around 240 mpg), just like the Volkswagen XL1.

The car is equipped with a hybrid powertrain consisting of a 1-liter 3-cylinder SCe petrol engine making 75 HP and 95 Nm (70 lb-ft) of torque and an electric motor good for another 67 HP and 200 Nm (147 lb-ft) of torque.

For the concept, Renault used a 6.7 kWh Li-Ion battery offering a range of 60 km (37 miles) and a top speed of up to 120 km/h (75 mph) using the electric motor. The internal combustion engine is going to work solely as a generator, juicing up the batteries when needed.

The future may be hybrid

The European Union is enforcing new regulations under which "dirty diesels" will have to be tested under real conditions. When they come into effect in 2017, they could have a huge impact on diesel sales, which represent about 50% of all European sales.

Could Renault and other companies choose to replace their lost diesel revenue with small and simple hybrids like the Toyota Yaris Hybrid? We think it's a distinct possibility, but the ultra-light Eolab seems more like a rival for the BMW i3 than a simple €20,000 alternative family car.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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