Renault-Nissan Alliance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the E-laad.nl Foundation, a consortium of Dutch grid operators, to jointly promote the spread of zero-emission vehicles in the Netherlands.
As part of the agreement, the Alliance will provide a full range of 100% electric vehicles to private customers starting this June with the Nissan LEAF, this year’s European Car of the Year, followed shortly by a full zero-emission* range from Renault. At the same time, E-laad.nl Foundation will build a nationwide, affordable public charging infrastructure compatible with such cars. Together, the efforts by the Alliance and the e-laad.nl Foundation are expected to support the Dutch government’s aim to have electric vehicles account for 10% of the Dutch car market by 2020.
E-laad.nl Foundation has already begun rolling out the 10,000 charging stations it plans to install across the country. The first 2,000 points will be placed in towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants, upon request from the local city councils.
The remaining 8,000 stations will be installed within close distance of the home or workplace of EV customers. Buyers of a Renault or Nissan EV can make the request for an E-laad.nl Foundation charging point when placing their order at the respective Alliance dealer.
Membership access to the public charging infrastructure, including the electricity, will cost about €100 a year.
The launch of the five-seater Nissan LEAF in the Netherlands this summer will be followed by Renault’s Kangoo Z.E. van and Fluence Z.E. luxury sedan in autumn. Both cars can already be reserved on the www.renault-ze.nl website. The two-seater Twizy (already available for “pre-reservations”) and the compact hatchback ZOE will be launched in 2012.
Thanks to the advanced navigation system built into their cars, Renault and Nissan EV customers will easily be able to find the location of the E-laad.nl Foundation charging points, as well as plot their journey according to them.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance’s commitment to the Dutch EV market began in September 2010 when it partnered with the City of Amsterdam for the promotion of electric vehicles and zero-emission mobility in the Dutch capital.