PRESENT AND FUTURE – Renault has a consolidated history in the electric car sector: Zoe is in fact a veteran, who has kept up to date while always remaining in the breach. At the online conference Renault Electric mobility for you held today, Francesco Fontana Giusti, image communication director of Renault Italia, and Biagio Russo, marketing director, intended to take stock of Renault’s present and future proposal in the field of electrified cars.
THREE FOUNDATIONS – The already substantial offer of the French brand has recently been enriched with Renault Twingo Electric and the couple Renault Clio hybrid e Renault Captur ibrida plug-in waiting for the Megane with the same powertrain called E-Tech (who to know more). But the vision of the French company provides a complete “ecosystem” for electric cars that want to develop many services. The 3 main ones are, intelligent charging (which takes into account the needs of the user and the offer available on the electricity grid), the Vehicle to Grid (which manages the interactions between the vehicle and the electricity grid to avoid overloads) and the second life of batteries, which will be used for the storage of renewable energy.
CONSTANT GROWTH – The event Renault Electric mobility for you reiterated the data showing the growing favor of Europeans (and Italians) towards electrified cars. In the first 8 months of 2020 in Europe the market share of electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars reached 11% compared to 6% in 2019 while in Italy the jump was even more marked: from 6 to 13% with a trend, especially for full hybrids, which appears to be lasting. The effect of the incentives, according to Biagio Russo, is in fact indubitable (especially for the more expensive electric and plug-in hybrids) but it has accentuated a market dynamic that is already visible and that will probably continue even without state aid. Francesco Fontana Giusti also believes that the next Dacia Sping (expected in 2021), with its economy and practicality, will be able to ferry many people to pure electric cars.
AN EXPERT ALWAYS AVAILABLE – The virtual meeting with the men of Renault also served to learn about the new digital services intended to facilitate the approach towards sustainable cars. The Virtual Showroom will be “visitable” from the Renault website and will allow you to watch the electrified cars on display from your PC or smartphone. Leading the way will be a E-XPERT, that is a consultant, which will illustrate the cars and answer customer questions remotely 7 days a week. Connected experience even for those who want to take a test drive: the X-PERIENCE system, which uses an app and an OBD dongle that detects car data , check the driving and say how long the car has been running on electric, the average fuel consumption and the estimated savings compared to moving using only gasoline.
THE SALES NETWORK – The trend towards digital (and the decrease in physical contact) is also expressed in upcoming presentations and conferences, many of which will also be streamed for sales network. The network staff was then trained on electric and hybrid cars, different cars that must be offered in a dedicated way, and this interested every dealership because all those of Renault will be able to sell electric cars. In past years, the most popular formula was the rental battery with a monthly fee, which allowed savings on the purchase price. Currently, however, there is a reversal of the trend that is rewarding the purchase of the “complete” car, also because battery costs have dropped.
CITIES ALSO CHANGE – The vision of sustainability within the Renault Electric Mobility for You also saw the intervention of Francesca Grassi, architect in Italo Rota’s studio and also involved in the project of the Italian Pavilion for the next Dubai Expo. Grassi explained that the lockdown caused by Covid-19 will do us rethink cities and the choices that affect our health and the environment. During the closing we saw clearer skies and waters and a restful silence. The reopening has led us to use more individual, often more sustainable means of transport, such as bicycles and electric scooters. Their silence makes us understand how urban areas could be calmer thanks to electric transport, whether private or public: and Renault is at the forefront of this vision.
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