Content by The Buzz Business
7
Mobility
Betting Big on Electric Vehicles
The intelligence to
see way down the
road
E
ncompassing eight global
automobile
brands,
the
Renault-Nissan Alliance was established in 1999 and last year
sold 8.5 million units, one in 10
new cars worldwide. Where the
Alliance leads the way, however,
is in electric vehicle (EV) sales,
with more than 360,000 global
We are pioneers
in EVs aspiring to more
than mobility; we aim to be
part of an ecosystem that
optimizes energy usage”
Daniele Schillaci,
Executive Vice President,
Global Sales & Marketing, Nissan
zero-emissions vehicle sales to
date. Nissan Motor Co. makes the
world’s best-selling EV, the LEAF,
while Renault ranks as Europe’s
leading EV manufacturer.
Nissan’s key brand strategy differentiator is Intelligent Mobility,
says its executive vice president for
global sales and marketing, Daniele
Schillaci. “It has three pillars,”
he explains, “Intelligent Driving,
which relates to autonomous
driving; Intelligent
Power, which is
about EV leadership; and
Intelligent
Integration
referring to the connected car.
The first makes life easier, the
second makes driving exciting
and the third keeps the customer
connected.”
The future of Intelligent
Mobility is smarter still. EVs
potent ially represent a cleaner
way to get around, compared to
conventional internal combustion
engines. While growing numbers
of greener cars will produce lower
levels of carbon dioxide and other
pollutants, they can only deliver
net emissions and energy savings
if the electricity they use comes
from sustainable sources. For now,
however, in most places these are
neither abundant nor reliable
enough to guarantee supply.
In response, Nissan aims to
transform its existing technology
to power everything else, Schillaci
reveals. Rethinking EVs as mobile
battery packs, Nissan is re-engineering our relationship with the
car. EVs can “fill up” from renewable energy supplies at off-peak
times and pump power back to the
grid as and when required, to cope
with spikes in demand — all without needing to burn fossil fuels.
The company is already partnering with Enel and NUUVE in
Denmark and the United Kingdom
on pilot programs that will see
“the car become part of urban energy strategies,” Schillaci explains.
“Imagine, one day, thousands of
EVs placed on the grid. Intelligent
Mobility is also integration in the
city and the environment.”
The IDS Concept, unveiled in
Tokyo last October and Geneva
in March, shows how far Nissan’s
vision goes. “It remains a concept
car,” Schillaci admits, “but shows
the direction we want to go. It is the
perfect car for the smart city, for
everything vehicle-to-grid and
vehicle-to-home. The city
plays the role of receiver
and supplier.”
Setting trends and
saving the planet
I
n August 2016, just as the RenaultNissan Alliance surpassed 100,000
annual sales of its EVs, Renault sold
its 100,000th EV to a customer in
Norway. The car, fittingly enough,
was a Renault ZOE, the bestselling EV in Europe. The French
automaker remains the continent’s
biggest and fastest-growing zeroemissions brand, accounting for
one in four EVs on Europe’s roads
and posting a 32 percent rise in
sales in the first semester of the year.
“We believed in EV technology from the beginning,” says Eric
Feunteun, Renault’s electric vehicle business unit director. “Carlos
Ghosn (the Alliance’s chairman
and CEO) was the first in the industry to move in that direction in
2007, when we announced a full
The most exciting
thing here is disruption,
changing the way we have
been manufacturing cars
for the last 100 years”
Eric Feunteun,
Electric Vehicle Business Unit
Director, Renault
range of EVs. We approach electro-mobility not just as one item
in our catalogue, but taking into
account the whole ecosystem.”
Renault markets the four-door
ZOE alongside the Twizy, a futuristic runabout sold in twin-seat
passenger and cargo configurations, and the Kangoo Z.E., a small
van with lots of space and flexibility for professionals. Each appeals
to a different demographic,
Feunteun notes: “Buyers of
ZOE come from high-end
segments, Kangoo is clearly for fleets, and Twizy is
good for car-sharing. They
are practical, affordable,
and a pleasure to drive.”
Where Renault’s EVs really
excel is in urban environments.
The Kangoo Z.E. offers logistics
providers, such as the French
Post Office, restriction-free access
to congested city centers. With
8,000 vans, it has the biggest
EV fleet in the world, Feunteun
reveals. The ultra-compact Twizy
takes up less space parked and
in traffic. The ZOE, meanwhile,
is bought by affluent, multi-car
households who want an EV to go
in and out of town.
“People who go electric are
trendsetters,” Feunteun argues.
“Consciousness about going green
is growing among the public,
but pressure from cities and
governments to solve the issue
is also getting bigger. In addition
to doing something good for the
planet, you also make your life
easier.”
All the company’s electricpowered models share a host of
common characteristics, based
on constant improvements in
technology to extend range and
enhance refinement. These lead
to very high satisfaction rates.
“When you ask our customers for
their reaction after driving an EV,
90% say that it is powerful and
fun,” Feunteun enthuses.