Australian EV market hots up as Renault promises ZOE and Kangoo

Two more fully electric vehicle models are set to hit the Australian market, with Renault Australia reportedly confirming its pure-electric ZOE supermini and Kangoo ZE van will be made available to Australian buyers within the next “couple of months”.

Motoring.com.au reports that the ZOE (pictured above), unveiled in Europe a year ago with a upgraded  “real-world” range of more than 300km, will soon be available in Australia in two versions – $42,470 for the entry-level ZOE Life, and closer to $A45,000 for a more tricked up model.

The pure-electric Kangoo Maxi ZE, a van-like vehicle able to carry around 650kg, and with a range of around 200km, will also be made available, mostly as as a fleet car for Australian businesses, starting at $A45,990.

The two medium-priced fully electric cars will be a welcome addition to a market sector found wanting over the past two years, as a vicious circle of lack of market demand and lack of consumer choice have worked to bring Australian EV sales to a virtual standstill.

Also helping to break the EV drought in Australia – although not this year – will be the Tesla Model 3, the US company’s first mass-market EV, priced at around $US36,000; and the new and “completely reinvented” Nissan LEAF, which has been the world’s top selling EV, to date.

According to reports, Renault – like so many other international EV makers – had been reluctant to bring its battery-powered cars to Australia due to the stunted market. But a spokesperson for the French car maker said it now thinks Australia is “EV ready”.

As Motoring.com.au notes, the two Renault EVs have been best-sellers in the Europe EV market, with combined sales of more than 120,000 vehicles since their launch last year.

In Australia, the cars will be distributed through Renault’s Corporate Sales Division, and sold and serviced by a single dealer in Sydney and another in Melbourne.

The company has hinted that it will offer corporate buyers of the cars a 7kW fast-charger that can fully charge either the van or supermini from empty in little more than seven hours, or 35km of range in one hour.