Renault is becoming increasingly frustrated by the speed at which electric car chargers are being installed across France and plans to fund some of the missing infrastructure itself.
Thierry Koskas, head of Renault’s electric vehicle programme, told Reuters that although it is not the carmaker’s job to install chargers, “somebody has to kickstart the market”.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Renault-Nissan alliance is to give away close to 1,000 fast chargers costing around EUR5,000 (US$6,300) each, mostly in France. These will go to car parks, supermarkets and other public spaces under private ownership.
Renault said that, of all the major European countries, infrastructure delays are worst in its home market. France has spent only 5% of a EUR50m fund earmarked for public charging networks, the company said recently.
Renault-Nissan has staked more than most carmakers on electric vehicles, investing EUR4bn (US$5bn)in their development and production.
The French government, Renault’s biggest shareholder with a 15% stake, aims to build 75,000 charging spots by 2015. Yet many of Europe’s 15,000 public chargers are currently concentrated in Germany and the Netherlands, with fewer than 2,000 installed in France.
Renault is concerned over the country’s readiness for the launch of its flagship Zoe launch later this year, a key test of the carmarker’s belief that electric car sales will rise steadily to claim 10% of the global auto market by 2020.
However, EV take-up has been slow and Nissan has seen sales of its battery-powered Leaf diminish after less than a year of sales with volumes dropping sharply after filling advance orders.
Reuters noted that this is not the first time a French company was forced to venture beyond core competencies to stimulate demand for innovative products. In 1910 Michelin issued 30,000 road signs to local authorities.
The tyremaker needed the signs to help push its maps and guides that spawned its famous restaurant reviews and stars.
Renault has signed a deal with family-owned retailer E Leclerc to equip 500 of its French hypermarkets with chargers by 2015.
Cars 21, a high-level group of European public officials and industry executives, last week called for action to accelerate the availability of public charging.
