The Renault Zoe, first released in 2012, will not be replaced, Renault boss Fabrice Cambolive has confirmed, ending its life as one of the best selling electric cars in its home country.
Instead, the Renault Clio and Renault Captur will continue so they can suppliment Renault’s new electric compact car line-up, headed by the Renault 4 and 5 – both arriving by 2025.
Cambolive described this to Autocar as a dual approach where its hybrid and electric models co-exist for the foreseeable future.
He said: “It depends on the market. If a market is fully electric, okay, but most markets will have pure electric for the compact segment, and until 2035, if needed, we will have Clio and Captur too. They will have hybrid technology because that’s our solution, the technological choice we made to replace the normal of the combustion engine.”
The decision to cull the Zoe – which was also sold as a PHEV – brings to an end a more-than-a-decade lifespan, which saw it claim the mantel of top-selling EV in Europe for two years running (2015-16) and selling more than 100,000 cars in France alone.
A final date for when production will end has yet to be confirmed.
Talking about the broader range, in which will see new Renault Megane and Renault Scenic arrive imminently, Cambolive believes the perfect line-up in the European market is four electric and four hybrid models. Within those models, there should be a maximum of one engine and two or three equipment levels, he said.
The firm is focusing on the Megane and Scenic first as it has prioritised its mid-sized models over compact models. Cambolive explained: “Within this enovation phase, we have said we will make more turnover per unit. For that, we decided to focus on our product line-up in the C-segment. We will have the Megane shortly and the Scenic after that. And after that we will come on to the compact segment.”
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