Renault-Nissan Issues Zero-Emissions Plan for Switzerland

Renault-Nissan announced a new effort to develop a zero-emission solution in Switzerland and confirmed that the Swiss electric utility company Energie Ouest Suisse, formerly known as EOS, will help the group in this matter. The French-Japanese alliance presented a new plan meant to help them in implementing and maintaining a battery-charging network in the country, as it said in a press statement, as well as in providing educational activities to promote electric vehicles among local residents.

According to figures provided by Renault-Nissan, transportation is the second-largest emitter of CO2, with 33 percent (approximately 16 million tons), after heating – 43 percent. Estimates have shown that replacing 15 percent of Switzerland's cars by 2020 would reduce CO2 emissions by 1.1 million tons per year, the alliance explained in a statement.

“We are delighted to be partnering with a clean energy specialist like EOS and look forward to working together to create the infrastructure and conditions for zero-emission mobility in Switzerland,” said Carlos Tavares, executive vice president of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. “For EOS, the introduction of electric vehicles brings a forward-looking response to Switzerland’s energy and climate challenge,” added Hans Schweickardt, CEO of EOS.

Renault-Nissan has already started similar efforts in a number of countries, including Israel, Denmark, Portugal and Monaco. In the United States, the French-Japanese group partnered with the State of Tennessee, the State of Oregon and Sonoma County in northern California, it said. In Japan, “the Alliance has a partnership with the Prefecture of Kanagawa and the City of Yokohama,” the two companies concluded, pointing that zero-emissions initiatives are very important for the future of the automotive industry.