Renault's one and only electric supermini, the Zoe, is now officially on sale in Norway, the biggest EV market in the whole of Europe. The announcement came today, as the French carmaker is hoping this move will compensate diminishing sales at home.
A test fleet of some 15 Zoe press cars were available at the launch event that took place late last month at the Olympic stadium in Oslo, attended by the French ambassador and Norway’s environment minister.
Norway buys more electric cars than pretty much anybody else. That's because the local government is taking environmentalism in its own hands, offering strong incentives. These include a total deduction of the VAT, which is 25%, free public parking, free charging stations in the street and in public parking lots, the right to drive in bus lanes, exemption from city tolls, and a lower annual road tax than for fuel vehicles. More units of the Tesla Model S are sold there than the Mercedes S-Class or Audi A8.
The Renault Zoe is based on the same platform as the Clio and claims an official range of 210 km (130 mile), according to the NEDC cycle. However, Renault admits real world numbers will be closer to range of 100 to 150 km (62 to 93 miles).
Prices in Norway start at 191,980 kr on the “Life Easy” charge package (€21,500). The most expensive model is the Intense “Supercharge”, which gets you a fast-charger wallbox that allows you to charge to 80% in 2 hours. Prices for this model start at 221,980kr (€24,900).
With just 255 examples sold in March, compared to 1089 the same month last year, Renault is finding less and less customers in France. In total, they've only managed to shift 6,000 units since January 2013, well short of Nissan's record figures for the Leaf.
Top 5 best selling vehicles in Norway for February 2014:
1. Nissan LEAF – 484
2. Tesla Model S – 431
3. BMW i3 – 228
4. VW e-Up! – 166
5. Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV - 136
Norway buys more electric cars than pretty much anybody else. That's because the local government is taking environmentalism in its own hands, offering strong incentives. These include a total deduction of the VAT, which is 25%, free public parking, free charging stations in the street and in public parking lots, the right to drive in bus lanes, exemption from city tolls, and a lower annual road tax than for fuel vehicles. More units of the Tesla Model S are sold there than the Mercedes S-Class or Audi A8.
The Renault Zoe is based on the same platform as the Clio and claims an official range of 210 km (130 mile), according to the NEDC cycle. However, Renault admits real world numbers will be closer to range of 100 to 150 km (62 to 93 miles).
Prices in Norway start at 191,980 kr on the “Life Easy” charge package (€21,500). The most expensive model is the Intense “Supercharge”, which gets you a fast-charger wallbox that allows you to charge to 80% in 2 hours. Prices for this model start at 221,980kr (€24,900).
With just 255 examples sold in March, compared to 1089 the same month last year, Renault is finding less and less customers in France. In total, they've only managed to shift 6,000 units since January 2013, well short of Nissan's record figures for the Leaf.
Top 5 best selling vehicles in Norway for February 2014:
1. Nissan LEAF – 484
2. Tesla Model S – 431
3. BMW i3 – 228
4. VW e-Up! – 166
5. Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV - 136