Renault had displayed its all-electric car Twizy ZE at the Frankfurt Auto show in September earlier this year along with three other models. Renault has now confirmed that two models including Twizy ZE will go into production from end 2011. The production model will be similar to the concept model shown at the Auto Show and will be manufactured at its Valladolid plant in Spain. The Valladolid factory will also produce a new internal combustion engine in 2012, and a new fossil-fuel car in 2013. it is said that the production version will remain extremely close to the concept model that is powered by an electric motor that makes 15kW (20HP) and 70Nm of torque and drives the rear wheels.
In 2012, an electric supermini will go into production at Renault's Flins factory near Paris, and is predicted to account for two-thirds of the group's electric vehicle sales in Europe. Flins will also be the site for the manufacture and recycling of electric vehicle batteries.
The other two electric vehicles that Renault is planning to produce are the Fluence Z.E. compact sedan and the Kangoo Z.E. small van. A letter of intent has also been signed between the Renault-Nissan alliance, the Atomic Energy Commission and France's Strategic Investment Fund to set up a French joint venture focused on EV battery advanced research, industrialization and recycling. Renault will use its battery plants in France, the UK and Portugal to supply EVs built around Europe, with the first batch set to come from the Flins site.
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