French carmaker Renault has pitched the price of its new Fluence ZE to undercut its rivals on the UK market as the ‘most affordable’ electric car.

The company announced last week that the Fluence ZE will sell in the UK for £17,850 after the Government’s £5000 subsidy, which is significantly less than Nissan’s Leaf at around £25,990 or Mitsubishi’s i-Miev at £23,990.

One of the reasons for the cheaper price of the Fluence is that Renault is trying a battery lease model for £75 a month, rather than permanently fitting a battery.

The Fluence, which will have a range of around 115 miles, will go on sale next year, although it can be pre-ordered now.

Renault is also instigating a battery-swap approach with its other new electric vehicle, the Kangoo ZE, as well as the Twizy and Zoe models.

Batteries will be supplied to Renault’s dealerships by logistics giant DHL, with whom Renault announced a three-year deal last week.

DHL will store batteries at its facility in Bonneuil near Paris and transport them to Renault’s ‘Expert ZE’ dealers across Europe and Asia. Used batteries will be returned to Renault’s Flins repair centre.

“Our contract with DHL is one of the key elements to ensure that replacement batteries are available for customers – a key quality point that Renault commits to offer to all electric vehicle buyers,” explains Renault after-sales director Jacques Daniel.

For further information:
www.renault.co.uk/
www.dhl.com/

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