Electric Vehicle Partnerships
From 2008, Renault entered a number of agreements for its planned zero-emissions products, including Israel, Portugal, Denmark, the U.S. states of Tennessee and Oregon, Yokohama in Japan and the Principality of Monaco. Serge Yoccoz is the electric vehicle project director.
In 2008 Renault-Nissan signed a deal to mass-produce electric cars for an initiative in Israel with Better Place, a US company developing new non-petroleum based transport infrastructure. Renault aimed to mass market 10,000 to 20,000 cars a year in Israel. Renault would also develop exchangeable batteries for the project. Renault also collaborated with Better Place to produce a network of all-electric vehicles and thousands of charging stations in Denmark, planned to be operational by 2011. The Renault Fluence Z.E., was selected for the Israel project, being the first zero-emission vehicle with a switchable battery, with trials in 2010 undertaken with the Renault Laguna.
Renault-Nissan and the largest French electric utility, Electricite de France (EDF) signed an agreement to promote emission-free mobility in France. The partnership planned to pilot projects on battery management and charging infrastructure. Renault-Nissan also signed deals with Ireland's ESB, and in Milton Keynes as part of the UK's Plugged In Places national project.
| “ | We have decided to introduce zero-emission vehicles as quickly as possible in order to ensure individual mobility against the background of high oil prices and better environmental protection | ” |
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—Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan |
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According to Ghosn, the Renault-Nissan alliance was a fundamental step in electric car development, and that although the two companies alone could produce an electric car, they both need each other for other issues like battery manufacturing, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and business strategy.
| “ | I don't think either Renault or Nissan would have been able to launch an EV alone successfully. You can have an electric car alone. But what you cannot have is an EV business system, from batteries to recycling to cars to infrastructure to negotiation, by being alone. | ” |
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—Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan |
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The Renault-Nissan group is a member of the PHEV Research Center.
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