June was a record-breaking month for the Renault ZOE

My favorite supermini is proving that there is demand for good electric cars, even if they are overpriced. Automakers just have to produce them and keep waiting times acceptable.

With over 11.000 orders in Europe, June was a record-breaking month for the Renault ZOE.

June was a record-breaking month for our #RenaultZOE, with more than 11,000 customer orders in Europe! ⚡🇪🇺🏆 France, the largest market for @Groupe_Renault's 100% #electric city car, also broke records with 3 times as many orders as in June 2019. A big thank you to all of you! pic.twitter.com/kBClfedUOq

— Groupe Renault | Electric (@GroupeRenaultEV) July 2, 2020

Moreover, during the first half of 2020 in its domestic market (France) the Renault ZOE was the 9º best selling car with 17.650 units sold. Its ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) counterpart, the Renault Clio got the top position with 38.884 units sold during the same period.

Unfortunately electric cars are still behind ICE cars when it comes to price and availability.

In France the Renault Clio is advertised with a starting price of 14.100 euros, while the Renault ZOE is advertised with a starting price of 23.900 euros with a battery rental and 32.000 euros with battery included. Even with a battery rental the Renault ZOE costs 9.800 euros more than its most direct ICE alternative, which proves that automakers are still overpricing and undermining electric cars.

With a battery rental the Renault ZOE should be cheaper than the Clio, but Renault, like every other automaker keeps electric cars expensive on purpose to convince us that the technology isn’t yet mature and they still need government subsidies…

Anyway, the new-generation Renault ZOE is showing what a good electric car can achieve, even if it’s still overpriced.

Best selling cars in France (first half of 2020)

I should mention that last year in France Renault sold 18.817 units of the ZOE during the whole year…

Next year the more affordable Renault Twingo ZE and Dacia Spring Electric might also enter the top 10 of best selling cars in France.