Launched in 2012, the Renault Zoé was initially due to end its career at the end of 2024, to make way for the R5 E-Tech. Except that electric city car will leave the range a little earlier than expected, from March 2024.
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It has already been more than ten years since the Renault Zoé arrived in the catalog of the French manufacturer. At the time, it was one of the first electric cars on the market, even before the Tesla Model S was launched in Europe. And the success was there, since the first version before the restyling was produced at more than 200,000 copiesbetween 2012 and 2019.
An early end
It must be said that this car has many advantages, while it has been able to evolve over the years with new engines. To the point of offering a range now reaching 400 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle. A high figure, which corresponds to the expectations of the majority of motorists according to a recent study. And this while many French people find that the autonomy of electric cars is insufficient at present.
Yes, but now, all good things come to an end, and this is also the case for the career of little Zoé. Indeed, it was already planned that it would end shortly, and more precisely at the end of next yearannounced boss Luca de Meo in July 2021.
Indeed, the city car must be replaced by the future Renault 5, which must also see the light of day in 2024, even if the precise date of its launch has not yet been revealed for the moment. And inevitably, the two risk stepping a little on each other’s feet: the manufacturer therefore had to make a choice. The latter focused on the R5 E-Techmore modern, while the Zoé is beginning to age.
But it turns out that the latter finally retires a little earlier than expected. In any case, this is what Renault has planned, which has announced the end of production of its electric city car in its Flins factory. March 30, 2024. His retirement was originally scheduled for November, but the firm has revised its plans, primarily for logistical reasons.
A complete overhaul
The journalists of BFM-TV indeed relay the announcement of the Force Ouvrière union, which also recalls that the “Zoé has been produced at the Flins site for 12 years to date for a quantity of 420,000 copies“. If the city car will therefore give way to the Renault 5, the cessation of its production has nothing to do with an arrival ahead of its descendant.
Actually, the factory will simply stop producing cars – the Nissan Micra will also suffer the same fate. This will also be replaced by an electric city car, probably based on the R5. However, no layoffs are planned within the Ile-de-France site, which employs around 2,000 employees.
Last June, the factory had already been shut down due to the shortage of semiconductors, but the situation has now been restored. In the future, this site will be 100% dedicated to reconditioning, although this activity has already started in recent months. Thus, from 150 Zoé per day, production fell to only 90 in June. Eventually, only the refurbishment of cars will be done on these lines.
The retirement of the Renault Zoé also coincides with a drop in sales, while it is now heckled by the Peugeot e-208 and other Dacia Spring. Internally, it is the Mégane E-Tech which overshadows it, while the MG4 is also beginning to gain importance on the French market.
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