Bright sparks Renault offer EV recovery 17 | 03 | 2011

RANGE STRESS is one of the biggest factors in the growth — or otherwise — of the electric vehicle market, but now Renault has become the first manufacturer to remove the problem by introducing a ‘get you home’ guarantee on its EVs.

The Renault approach will assume a journey was within realistic reach of the range of the Fluence, Zoe or Twizy EVs, but if the car has run out of power as a result of diversions or traffic jams the guarantee will kick-in.

Interestingly from a Scottish perspective — especially given this winter's serious cold spell — the cavalry will also come to your rescue if your Renault EV has ground to a halt because of inclement weather which midget have forced the use of the heating system, air-con, lights … and wipers.

In such cases, Renault will offer the driver a replacement vehicle, but the company is still considering how many times each customer will be able to call upon the back-up in any given year.

While both the Kangoo and Fluence are the subjects of a healthy number of enquiries, the Twizy (pictured) is receiving three-times as many. Renault is still keeping's corporate fingers crossed that the interesting little quadricycle will be eligible for eco rebates in selected European countries.

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Jim McGill