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Renault ZOE 2018
The 2018 model-year Renault ZOE has been revealed, with a new 80kW R110 electric motor which delivers more power.
Despite being the same size as the R90, the R110 is 12kW (16hp) more powerful than its predecessor. Drivers will benefit from stronger acceleration when travelling at higher speeds as the new motor shaves almost two seconds off the ZOE’s 50-75mph time.
The new R110 motor is the latest in Renault’s electric motor development and production strategy. The R110 has been created specifically by Renault – an evolution of the R90, developed in just two years – and is made at the Cléon plant in Normandy having been designed by engineers based at both the Renault Technocentre and Cléon. In addition to carrying over the R90’s energy efficiency, the R110 has a combination of electrical machine- and power electronics-related innovations that have produced an extra 12kW with no increase in either weight or volume.
The new R110 motor will be certified in accordance with the new Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) which has been gradually rolled out in Europe since 1st September 2017, to replace NEDC certification. The new, more severe procedure is intended to mirror real-world vehicle use more accurately and, in the case of electric vehicles, measures driving range, expressed in miles. The new WLTP cycle, which involves dynamometer testing, is longer and involves a higher number of phases. Speeds are also higher and acceleration is harder. Certified ranges are consequently lower and more in-line with real-world figures. The new procedure does not alter ZOE’s real-world range which stands at 186 miles in urban and suburban areas.
The introduction of the R110 takes the number of variants of the Renault-designed and -produced motor available for the Kangoo Z.E., Master Z.E., ZOE and Daimler’s smart electric drive up to five (44kW, 57kW, 60kW, 68kW and 80kW).
The 2018 model-year ZOE range also features a new dark metallic purple body colour, ‘Aconite’.
Order books for ZOE equipped with the new R110 motor will open in the UK in spring 2018, with first customer deliveries expected in late summer. UK pricing will be announced closer to the on-sale date.
In 2017, the Renault ZOE was Europe’s best-selling electric vehicle for the third year running. A total of almost 100,000 ZOEs have been made at Renault’s Flins plant in France and sold across the world. ZOE sales have consistently climbed year-on-year since the model’s launch, and grew 44% in 2017 compared to 2016. More than one in two EVs sold in France in 2017 was a ZOE.
