Renault upgrades Zoe electric car as competition intensifies

PARIS -- Ahead of an expected boom in electric vehicles in Europe, Renault has upgraded its Zoe small hatchback with a more powerful motor, larger battery, expanded charging options and a redesigned interior.

The Zoe has largely had the small electric vehicle segment to itself since it was introduced in 2012, and sales have risen every year but it still remains a niche vehicle, with just under 40,000 sold last year, almost all in Europe.

But new competitors are poised to enter the market as automakers turn to electric vehicles to help them meet the European Union's 2021 CO2 emissions standards.

The Tesla Model 3 leads in overall European full-electric vehicle sales through the end of the first quarter, with more than 19,000 registrations according to the European Alternative Fuels Observatory, an EU funded database.

The Zoe is second, with 11,000, followed by the Nissan Leaf at around 10,000 and the BMW i3 at 8,000. Other electric vehicles notching significant sales include the Volkswagen e-Golf, the Hyundai Kona, the Jaguar i-Pace, the Hyundai Ionic and the Kia Niro.

The Zoe will gain two direct competitors in the small-hatchback segment when PSA Group introduces electric versions of the new generation Opel Corsa and Peugeot 208 subcompacts in early 2020. Volkswagen will kick off its line of ID electric models with the ID3 compact next year.

Nonetheless, Renault has not opted for an all-new Zoe. Instead, this year it upgraded the battery and motor, added a more-versatile charging plug, revamped the dashboard and console, and restyled the front and rear of the car.

The Zoe will continue to be built at Renault's factory in Flins, France, which has been configured to double Zoe capacity as part of a 1-billion-euro investment in electric vehicles last year.

Zoe sales are up 43 percent through April compared with the same period in 2018, which Renault executives partly attribute to the overall growth in the electric vehicle market.

Renault is counting on its deep experience with electric vehicles to keep the Zoe competitive, executives said.

"We have roughly 10 years' experience in electromobility," said Emmanuel Bouvier, commercial director for Renault's electric vehicle business unit. "We have people in our dealerships who can educate customers on EV usage. We're able to service, maintain and repair the vehicles." "This is a real edge we have over our competitors," he said.

A 52-kWh battery, up from 41 kWh, gives the Zoe a real-world range of 380 km (236 miles) in the summer and 250 km in the winter, Renault says. As-tested range under WLTP standards is 390 km, a 20 percent increase.

Two motors are available, starting with an 80-kWh motor introduced last year. A new 100 kW motor is now rated at 135 hp and 245 nm of torque, which Renault says cuts 80-120 kph acceleration times to 7.1 seconds, 2.2 seconds faster than the 80-kWh motor.

The Zoe's front charging port, hidden as before behind the Renault logo on the nose, now has two plugs, to accommodate everything from typical 2.3 kW AC home sockets to the 50 kW DC fast-charging ports that are now appearing on European highways. Charging times range from nine hours (from 0 to 100 percent) with a 7 kWh wallbox, to 30 minutes (adding 150 km of range) on a DC fast charger, Renault says.

The dashboard has been redesigned to feature a 10-inch digital instrument panel and an optional 9.3-inch central touchscreen. Renault has also given the Zoe more soft-touch materials, including fabric made from recycled materials. A redesigned center console has more storage and houses a new electronic "drive by wire" shifter, an automatic parking brake and an induction charger for cellphones.

Renault says it has improved drivability by adding a new "B" mode that increases deceleration resistance, enabling almost complete one-pedal driving.

The updated Zoe is the central pillar of Renault's electric vehicle strategy, but by 2022 it will be joined in Europe by two new models to be built on a shared Renault-Nissan alliance platform.

Renault officials have given no further details except to say that the automaker would focus on the three smallest segments for full electric vehicles, and that electric vehicles would "represent 20 percent of the range." 

This year, Renault has introduced the K-ZE City, an electric version of its Kwid minicar, for the Chinese market. The K-ZE could appear in Europe, executives say.

By 2022, Renault will have eight electric models and 12 electrified models; it is aiming for 10 percent of sales to be full electric.