The Renault electric concept vehicles presented at Frankfurt were Twizy, Zoe, Fluence and the Z.E previously seen at Paris. The company has ambitious plans for its range of electric vehicles, stating that they will be widespread in the future. If things go according to plan, the Z.E cars, currently in concept form, will be available on the market in 2011, in a comprehensive range of European zero emissions vehicles.

The problem with most car companies committing to electric vehicles is, as always, the lack of infrastructure and articulated plans by government and industry to make infrastructure available. And so, Renault will be building its electric vehicles with a standard recharge time of between four and eight hours. The Z.E cars will all be equipped with external recharge points, and will even be fitted with a ‘Quickdrop’ system meaning the entire battery package can be substituted in three minutes.

The claims of “widespread” dominance of the market probably won’t happen with the Renault Twizy, the most original of the four prototypes. We find it hard to see how this car, based on motorcycle concepts (and, lets face it, motorcycle comfort, too). Despite this, it has a 2012 debut planned, with its 15kW motor. We think it may not see the light, but the market, and the car itself, may change in that time.

The Renault concepts Zoe and Fluence are certainly more convetional. The Zoe has a 54kW motor, while the Fluence is an electric sedan version with a range of 160 km. These two are also very much in concept phase, making the final concept, the Z.E, the only one that really seems to be on the road to production, from the point of view of its technology. It has a 70kW unit combined with an endothermic engine, which should meet the daily driving needs of the current market. Given that, it will be curious to see the success of this European electric car in its local market.

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