Electric Car Revolution Starts in France: Renault EVs Arrive at Dealerships
Batteries Not Included
As every EV fan knows, an electric car requires little maintenance, but it's nice to know that Renault has set up an organization so that the customer will never be left to his own devices. In fact, customers will have to maintain a constant relationship with Renault, because the company has chosen not to sell its batteries. That's the trick to make the electric car cheaper. People will buy the car, without any other choice than to rent the battery. The Renault Kangoo Z.E. (the first model available) starts at 20,000 euros ($27,320) VAT not included, and government incentives for buying an EV not deducted. You must add on top of that the monthly rent for the 22-kWh (usable) battery, which varies between 72 and 125 euros ($98 to $170), depending on the mileage and the contract's length. Electricity isn't included—and neither is the charging cord pictured below, which is an option. For some reason, Renault believes most users will have access to a charging station and won't need the cord. That is probably true for the Kangoo which most often should be bought as a work vehicle.
That charging cord doesn't come free with the car, you've got to pay extra for it
That charging cord doesn't come free with the car, you've got to pay extra for it.
http://www.plugincars.com/renault-el...ce-109669.html
Mfrs need to get out of the proprietary battery business, and pool their resources in a industry battery research org, that would deliver a generic plug-in battery sold for all EVs and from 1000s of sources, just like gasoline and diesel are commodities.