The Renault brand and its dealer network will undergo significant changes, such as the fact that the Zoe model will be discontinued and dealers in Europe will have advanced charging stations open to electric car buyers, regardless of brand, on the model introduced by dealers of brands imported by Porsche Romania .

“There will be no new generation in Zoya. At the end of the current generation, the Zoe model will be replaced by the Renault 5 and Renault 4 models,” said Fabrice Cambolive, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Renault brand, at the Paris Motor Show during a round table with journalists from Romania.

So, the model, thanks to which Renault managed to enter the mass market of electric cars, will leave the stage somewhere in the next 2-3 years, at the same time Renault 5 (revitalization of the legendary name from the past of the Renault brand) will appear on the stage.

Cambolive factories

Fabrice Cambolive did not mention the time horizon when the Zoe will disappear, but it is clear that the car has only a few years of career ahead of it.

Renault is also completely abandoning the idea of ​​renting a battery for electric cars, because modern batteries are more affordable and perform better, and in this context it makes more sense to offer the car and the battery as a complete, indivisible package.

“Initially, sometime in 2012, we didn’t know what the market value of electric cars would be, how the batteries would discharge over time, and we didn’t want that burden to fall on the customers. But the reality is that there are literally no Renault electric cars on the second-hand market, they are sold immediately, even if they are 5-10 years old. And the battery charge usually exceeds 70%. So we passed the stage of worrying about battery life and cost,” explained Fabrics Kamboliv.

A model larger than the Zoe will be retained. The Megane name will remain on the market, and a decision on non-electric Megane cars will be made in the near future.

“It is clear that this whole segment – C-class, compact cars – will be electric in the coming years. We will see how we structure our C segment, but it is clear that the Megane will remain,” said Fabrice Cambolivet.

Options are open for Renault Clio, neither the rejection of the model nor its transformation into an electric car has yet been decided.

“We will make a decision on the Clio, the options are open, all cards are on the table at the moment,” said a Renault spokesman.

Cambolive also said that the brand it represents is well positioned for the future, on three key axes.

The first is to have electric vehicles built on a dedicated electric platform (rather than an adaptation).

The second concerns the timely introduction of hybrid models (E-TECH technology).

And the third concerns multimedia systems openR link, implemented together with Google.

These three axes, Kamboliv says, are successful for Renault and will contribute to the successful promotion of the brand in Europe and beyond.

Another big change concerns the charging of electric cars in the Renault dealer network.

“It’s quite clear that most Renault dealers are well positioned, usually near motorways or junctions, and giving EV users the option to charge at the dealer will be a big help. Not only customers with Renault cars will be able to charge, but all customers, regardless of the brand,” said Fabrice Cambolive.

We are talking about dealers in France and Europe in general.

“And Romania, why not?” – said Kamboliv.

Porsche Romania has the same approach to dealer loading for imported brands. At the moment, the brands Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and SEAT have charging stations at all dealers in Romania with electric vehicles from 11 to 300 kW.