Renault Will Introduce The Twingo Z.E. This Year
Credit to Author: Maarten Vinkhuyzen| Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2020 23:16:25 +0000
Published on January 21st, 2020 | by Maarten Vinkhuyzen
January 21st, 2020 by Maarten Vinkhuyzen
In last week’s press release about Renault’s 2019 sales success, there was a stealth announcement about the introduction of the Twingo Z.E. “For the group, 2020 will mark a new stage in its electric offensive with the launch of Twingo Z.E. and the deployment of its new E-Tech hybrid and plug-in hybrid offers.” Only a few obsessive followers realized that this was news.
The e-tech hybrid technology is a variant on the technology offered by Toyota and Honda for the last 20 years. It is essential to get the Renault fleet’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) below the dreaded 95g/km maximum. It is also a stop-gap technology to bridge the time needed to transition to full electric driving. This is not important, though, and has been mentioned before. The big news is the Twingo Z.E. This car was introduced in 2014 with the expectation in parts of the market that it would be, or would become soon, a fully electric car. That it has taken six years for the fully electric version to emerge is due to the growing realization that to succeed a larger battery is needed.
The 20 kWh battery of the original ZOE placed it in a niche category for enthusiasts looking for a second or third car for shopping and short drives. Nowadays, the realization that a larger battery is needed for market acceptance as a generic usable car is starting to become general knowledge among car designers. But the realization that they have to compete with the gasoline and diesel offerings on usability and holiday travel is not yet part of their world view.
The biggest problem will likely be the misconception of the “city car.” Even those small European cars are supposed to be able to travel longer distances if needed. The Twingo diesel I drove for the past eight years, that was perfect to drive 800 miles a day, is a design of the past. It was too successful competing with larger, more profitable models.
This new Twingo Z.E. will have to compete with the likes of the Honda E and the Volkswagen triplets. The Honda is too expensive, with a battery that is too small. Those three from Volkswagen, Seat, and Skoda are worthier opponents. The best way to counter them is with a slightly larger battery and a sharper price. The killer app would be ProPilot, but with the current state of the Alliance, that is probably too much to ask.
The best case scenario would be an increase in the ZOE battery to 60 kWh, a >45 kWh liquid-cooled battery in the Twingo with DC charging of >80kW and the R110 motor from the lighter ZOE. That would create minimal cannibalism of the ZOE and a dominant model in the A-segment of the smallest cars. It would also increase the ZOE’s competitive chances against the Peugeot e-208 and Opel Corsa-e. Regretfully, I think it is unlikely.
The more likely configuration would be a 40 kWh battery and the ZOE charging options of 22 kW AC and 50 kW DC. That would make it a great “city car,” but an inept traveler.
I wonder how much of the battery, charging tech, power electronics, and motor will be shared with the ZOE. The cost savings of the larger economies of scale could provide an edge on the price front. The previous ZOE 40 kWh battery combined with the R110 motor would make it a very lively, not to say awesome, car to drive.
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Maarten Vinkhuyzen Grumpy old man. The best thing I did with my life was raising two kids. Only finished primary education, but when you don’t go to school, you have lots of time to read. I switched from accounting to software development and ended my career as system integrator and architect. My 2007 boss got two electric Lotus Elise cars to show policymakers the future direction of energy and transportation. And I have been looking to replace my diesel cars with electric vehicles ever since. And putting my money where my mouth is, I have bought Tesla shares. Intend to keep them until I can trade them for a Tesla car.