Renault says “world’s first affordable 100% electric van” a massive hit

No fewer than 19 French companies have placed orders for 15,637 Kangoo Van Z.E. pure electric vehicles. La Poste, which plumped for 10,000 of the Kangoo Z.E.s, placed the biggest order – this makes perfect sense because a post office van will have a fixed daily route, thus reducing the worry over range.

The order must be causing champagne corks to fly in Renault headquarters, coming as it does on the heels of an order for 115,000 of Renault’s pure electric Fluence Z.E family saloon. That came from the battery swapping Better Place scheme, which will be rolled out in Israel and Denmark to begin with.

Public authorities in France had called upon La Poste chairman Jean-Paul Bailly to form a group of orders from large companies interested in acquiring electric vehicles. Electric vehicle makers were then called upon to bid for the contracts.

Interestingly, Jerome Stoll, the Renault boss for commercial vehicle marketing, reckons that it was the company’s battery rental scheme that made the difference. That’s where customers own the vehicle but lease the batteries, significantly reducing the risk of high costs that could be incurred with failing batteries. Stoll said: “This success by Renault confirms the relevance of our electric vehicle offering – products and services alike – with business customers.”

So, is this more evidence battery leasing is the way forward?