EVS to cost the same as petrol cars
Renault boss in bold prediction as battery technology improves
Renault chief says prices could match up as soon as 2020
SMALL electric vehicles could cost a similar amount to conventionally powered super min is as early as the year 2020, according to the man in charge of Renault’s EV division.
Gilles Normand, senior vice-president for electric vehicles at Renault, said that sales of his company’s small EV, the ZOE, have jumped by 90 per cent between 2016 and 2017, thanks to the introduction of a larger battery capacity earlier this year.
The list price of the ZOE is still around 50 per cent higher than that of the equivalent petrol car in Renault’s line-up, the Clio. But Normand believes that as more manufacturers and suppliers invest in battery development and manufacturing, the prices of EVS will take only a couple of years to reach the same level as petrol-engined cars.
Speaking at the Financial Times Car of the Future Summit in London, Normand said: “We are moving faster than we expected. When we introduced the first ZOE in 2012, we didn’t think the new battery capacity would come in 2016; we expected it by 2018.
“A huge amount of money is now being invested by OEMS [large car manufacturers] and suppliers. This will bring further breakthroughs in battery tech. And it’ll help sales, because it’ll be more affordable. We mustn’t forget that the prices of combustion-engined cars will go up, and EV prices will come down,” he added. “If you go for B-segment [cars like the Clio], by early next decade we consider the prices of EVS will be on par with combustion-engined cars.
“With the C-segment [cars such as the Volkswagen Golf], it’ll be the middle of the next decade. And in industry terms, the year 2020 is like tomorrow morning at 8am. This will be another trigger point for more and more adoption.”
“A huge amount of money is being invested, which will bring further breakthroughs in battery tech”