Renault-Nissan Alliance & Orange expand electric vehicle partnership

 
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* Renault-Nissan to supply 200 electric vehicles to Orange in France by 2015, mostly for car-sharing purposes   * Fleet will comprise Renault ZOE, Renault Kangoo Z.E., Nissan LEAF and Nissan e-NV200 * Agreement expected to help contribute to Orange’s commitment to reduce its CO2footprint by 20% by 2020

 
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The Renault-Nissan Alliance has signed an agreement with Orange, one of the world’s largest telecommunications operators, to supply it with a fleet of 200 electric vehicles for its needs in France.

Renault-Nissan, the global leader in sustainable mobility, will provide the 100% electric vehicles to Orange by 2015. Orange will use the electric vehicles mostly for car-sharing purposes between its buildings and installations in France. Orange currently has about 2,000 pool vehicles in France with about 100 cars (hybrid, electric, diesel, etc.) available for car-sharing purposes. Using the Orange Auto Partage application, employees can book a car for professional or personal use online or via a smartphone.

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The Renault-Nissan electric fleet will comprise the Renault ZOE subcompact, the Renault Kangoo Z.E. van, the newly launched Nissan e-NV200 van and the Nissan LEAF, the world’s best-selling electric vehicle ever. Orange already owns a fleet of about thirty tandem 2-seat Twizys it has acquired from Renault since 2012.

“We believe that the use of electric vehicles needs to be encouraged both professionally and privately. Therefore, this agreement with the Renault-Nissan Alliance contributes to helping us meet our commitment to a 20% reduction in our CO2 footprint by 2020,” said Hélène Billon, Orange Facilities & Mobility Management Director. “By that time, we hope to continue the acquisition of more than 1,000 electric vehicles, notably to account for about one-third of our car-sharing fleet in France.”

”Thanks to the partnership between Renault and Nissan, the Alliance is able to provide Orange with the widest range of electric vehicles to meet its needs -- from subcompact passenger cars to light-commercial vehicles,” said Christian Mardrus, Alliance Executive Vice President for Renault-Nissan B.V. and the Alliance CEO Office. “More Orange employees will soon be able to enjoy the many benefits of electric mobility: zero noise, smooth handling and acceleration, and zero tailpipe emissions. And the vehicles can be fully recharged with renewable energy at night, so they can be 100% charged every morning.”

Renault-Nissan will accompany Orange in the installation of a network of charging stations at the sites which adopt the car-sharing service.

The electric vehicles procurement agreement between the Alliance and Orange is part of a wider international partnership between the two companies.

Renault-Nissan Alliance, global leader in electric vehicles

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is the world’s leader in electric mobility with the widest range of 100% electric vehicles, which can be charged with purely renewable energy and consume no petrol whatsoever. To date, the Alliance has sold 176,000 electric vehicles globally, more than all other major automakers combined.

Nissan LEAF won the 2011 World Car of the Year, European Car of the Year 2011 and Car of the Year Japan 2011-2012 awards. Renault Kangoo was voted International Van of the Year 2012.

Renault and Nissan have signed several major EV fleet deals around the world. In 2011, La Poste in France placed a bid for more than 10,000 Renault Kangoo Z.E.s. More recently, AVIS car rental in Denmark ordered 400 Nissan LEAFs, the biggest single order for the electric vehicle so far. The Nissan LEAF is also part of taxi programs in several big cities around the world, including Amsterdam, Madrid, Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Zurich.

ABOUT THE RENAULT-NISSAN ALLIANCE:

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is a strategic partnership between Paris-based Renault and Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan, which together sell one in 10 cars worldwide. The companies, which have been strategic partners since 1999, sold 8.3 million cars in nearly 200 countries in 2013. The Alliance also operates strategic collaborations with automakers including Germany’s Daimler, China’s Dongfeng, and India’s Ashok Leyland and recently took a majority stake in Russia’s top automaker, AVTOVAZ.