In May, Renault managed to sell 2.679 units of the Zoe worldwide, while at the same time, the French automaker sold 42.695 units of its gas counterpart, the Renault Clio 4. Renault sells more units of the Clio 4 in one month, than Zoes in one entire year. Unfortunately, this demonstrates that there is still a long way to go until EVs finally replace ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) cars.
However, Renault – which is 15 % owned by the French government – has plans to increase EV production and sales.
This year, the production capacity for the Renault Zoe is 60.000 units per year, which represents a 50 % increase from last year (40.000). This recent 50 % production capacity increase is mainly possible due to the LG Chem battery cell plant in Poland, which started production this year. Furthermore, Renault wants the Zoe to reach an annual production of 120.000 units by 2022.
Let’s see Renault Zoe’s sales evolution.
Renault Zoe sales
2016: 21.998
2017: 31.932
2018 (YTD): 14.242
Considering that LG Chem is already producing battery cells in Europe (Poland) and the new Renault Zoe R110 will have its first deliveries starting in two months, I think that’ll be difficult to sell more than 50.000 units this year, but not impossible. Ghosn’s paycheck depends on it. The end of the Q3 (September) and Q4 (December) will have to reach record levels.
Anyway, currently, the Renault Zoe is produced at Flins plant, side-by-side with two other superminis: the Renault Clio 4 and the Nissan Micra. With the introduction of the Renault Clio 5 in the coming months, Renault will shift more Clio production to Turkey, leaving more production capacity available to the Zoe in Flins. Furthermore, as it happen previously, the new Zoe should be presented soon after the new Clio. Some industry sources point to the Paris Motor Show 2018, which will take place from the 4th to 14th of October. Only then we’ll know if the new Zoe will be well prepared to face upcoming electric superminis, such as the Volkswagen Neo, Peugeot 208 EV, Opel eCorsa and Honda Fit EV.
