Renault to offer new battery purchase option on Zoe and Kangoo EVs in the UK

UK sales of Renault two best-selling EVs, the Zoe hatchback and Kangoo van, are set to rise by around 50 per cent in 2014.

The company is marking the achievement by offering future buyers the chance to buy their cars’ batteries outright rather than insisting that they lease them with a monthly payment. 

The move is expected to generate another sales kick, especially in the fleet sector. Zoes and Kangoos bought under the new 'full purchase' scheme will carry special 'i' badging to underscore the fact that their residual value is different from cars with leased batteries.  

Although battery leasing has been controversial in some quarters, Renault is anxious to point out that it will continue because it suits many customers and brings extra safeguards, such as recovery if the car is immobilised on the open road because the battery has run out of charge. 

Between now and the end of January, Renault is also lowering battery leasing costs, typically from £70 (Rs 6,807) to £50 (Rs 4,862) a month for a Zoe that does 7,500 miles/ 12,000 kilometres a year. 

This lower monthly cost is about equal to the cost of fuelling an equivalent diesel car for 6,650 miles/10,640km Renault claims. If owners chose to buy the battery instead of leasing it, the price of the Zoe rises from £13,995 (Rs 13.61 lakh) to £18,995 (Rs 18.47 lakh), including the government's EV grant.

Renault UK’s managing director, Ken Ramirez, who has presided over 19 straight months of above-market sales growth since the company dropped some of its less successful models, is confident that the new EV marketing moves – plus a correction of the Zoe’s most fundamental problem, dashboard reflections on the windscreen – will allow “healthy sales growth” of EV models to continue.