ELECTRIC VEHICLES : Coming

FrankFurt Motor Show was used by RENAULT to  reveal four electric concept cars and new alliances that it hopes will put the company at the forefront of the drive toward this technology.

Launching the concepts at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said : “electric cars will make up 10% of total global car volumes by 2020″.

Renault’s concepts for the market are the Twizy and the Zoe city cars, the Fluence family sedan and the Kangoo zero-emissions people carrier.

Mr. Ghosn said he expects the Twizy concept to go into production in the second half of 2011, while the Zoe will be launched mid-2012. The Fluence will be the first to be launched, hitting the market in the first half of 2011. Renault has decided to launch the car in Israel.

Renault has been working with California-based Better Place on its electric car technology for the past two years. Better Place has developed platforms for charging the car batteries and interacting with the electricity supply grids, both in the home and on the streets.