Lithium Drive: All-electric Renault Fluence Z.E. saloon delivers quiet and relaxed zero-emissions driving at a sensible price ilc.v, tnr.v, czx.v, rm.v, lmr.v, abn.v, asm.v, btt.v, bva.v, bvg.v, epz.v, fst.v, gbn.v, hao.v, jnn.v, ks.v, ktn.v, kxm.v, mgn, mxr.v, rvm.to, svb, ura.v, nup.ax, srz.ax, usa.ax
Renault talks about The Electric Revolution in 3 days
and we think that Renault business model with lease of the lithium
batteries will be the game changer in the electric cars market space.
Can Europe lead the way in the electric cars space? By all means - if
you consider the price of gas at over $8 per gallon in UK now.
Lithium Drive: Renault Z.E.: Putting An End To The Myths About Electric Cars
"Renault
is moving forward with its Electric Revolution to be unveiled in the
next couple of weeks. The company has produced the great documentary
about Electric Cars and will launch its new marketing scheme with
leasing Lithium batteries instead of selling them. It will be the game
changer in the Electric space. Innovative approach allows to sell EVs at
the price of the similar car with ICE, when lease payments for the
battery and payments for the electricity will be less than the gas
bills. All the Green credits are yours as the difference, when the Oil
price will continue its rise. The very important issues of the Lithium
battery reliability, warranty and upgrade will be taken out of the
customer decision process - Renault will manage your Lithium battery for
you. It is simple, but very logical and powerful solution and will make
mass market for Electric Cars reality. We do never pay for the gas
upfront - why should we pay to drive Electric?
Visit Renault Z.E website for the interactive information board:"
Electric Vehicle Lithium Battery Market to Reach $14.6 Billion in Revenues by 2017, According to Pike Research
"Now we can talk about the growth and the hot market for the Lithium batteries. Asia is leading the way forward and Asian trading houses and Lithium materials producers are securing the Lithium supply for the Green Revolution in transportation. With
Oil moving above $90 today more bids are coming into the Lithium
developers space which are bitten into the dust with the end of the
world scare during past couple of months. Insiders are buying into Orocobre Lithium and International Lithium now and, maybe, this sell off will be another major entry point into this generational Bull market. Future will tell."
By Luke Madden
Electric vehicles are currently
limited to hatchback models like the Nissan Leaf – but Renault is about
to change all that with the introduction of the Renault Fluence Z.E.
saloon.
While you might not recognise
it, the Fluence is already produced for European markets with a
traditional combustion engine. In this Z.E. guise it’s powered by a 70kW
electric motor – about 94bhp – and produces 226Nm of torque.
To fit the Fluence with the
batteries necessary to power an electric car, Renault engineers have had
to stretch the body by 130mm and it shows in the slightly awkward
silhouette. Otherwise though, the Fluence Z.E. looks like any other car
and, aside from the charging flaps on both front fenders, you’d be hard
pushed to tell it was an electric vehicle. Look closely though and the
giveaways are blue tinted lights and badges.
Inside is a well-built cabin
with soft-touch materials covering the dashboard and a range of solid
feeling buttons and switches. This car’s battery-powered status is
marked out by bespoke dials and a few Z.E. badges.
Changes under the skin are more
thorough. The electric motor is about 40kgs lighter than a traditional
diesel engine but the batteries – located at the rear – add an extra
280kgs. This makes the front suspension softer while the rear subframe
has been strengthened to deal with the extra weight.
The driving experience is
typical of an electric car with 226Nm delivered from a standstill. That
allows for punchy acceleration that's so impressive we couldn't believe
the official 0-62mph time of 13 seconds. Meanwhile the lack of vibration
and noise from the engine do wonders for refinement around town.
Handling is safe and predictable
but never particularly rewarding. This feels like a car more geared for
town driving with a soft ride and light, but precise steering.
Range is still a concern though,
with Renault claiming an official figure of 115 miles, dropping as low
as 50 miles under the worst conditions. By contrast they say good
conditions will allow for up to 125 miles of zero tailpipe emissions
motoring.
To top up the batteries you can
get a Wall-Box installed at your house for £799 which will fully charge
the battery in six to eight hours – charging from a normal 240v socket
will take between 10 and 12 hours.
