Electric cars are charging ahead
FRANCE now has 100,000 electric vehicles on its roads and the government is pushing hard to stimulate the market with buyer bonuses and a promise to have one million charging points within three years.
Today 1% of cars sold in France are electric and, with the Volkswagen scandal still ringing in their ears, manufacturers were told by Environment Minister Ségolène Royal to invest more in zero-emissions: “Electric and hydrogen cars must now be priority, constructors must cut prices and increase the variety of models.”
Her call came as German MPs voted to ban the sale of new internal combustion vehicles from 2030 – with the EU perhaps following.
Pledging continued support for moves to increase electric car usage, Ms Royal said the €10,000 superbonus to encourage diesel owners to switch to electric would be continued into 2017 while buyers of an electric motorbike or scooter could get a €1,000 grant of up to 27% of the value.
However, fears of running out of charge were a major sticking point for buyers and BMW, VW and Opel have all broken the 300km barrier – while Renault said it had doubled the Zoe range to 400km in test conditions, falling to 300km under ‘real world’ urban driving. Likewise Tesla promised 613km – for a real world 400km.
Ms Royal said “range is crucial” to end buyer anxiety over being stranded and called for one million charging bornes by 2019 – 100,000 public (giving a full charge in 30 minutes) and 900,000 private – with a €400 tax credit offered to people to fit one at home.
Manufacturers are also researching ways to increase battery life while trying to reduce their weight.
At present electric cars all weigh more than their fossil fuel equivalent: while the electric has no engine, gearbox or fuel tank the addition of the battery, motor and converter all add up to too much.
A Zoe battery weighs in at 300kg and the No1 French seller tips the scales at 1.5tonnes compared to the 1.2tonnes of the donor Clio.
Batteries are said to give 1km for every 1kg of weight and that means electric cars make much use of more expensive lightweight materials.
The new 400km Zoe, on sale this month, is priced at €23,600 before grants are deducted – but batteries are rented and cost from €69 a month.
