Renault has won the first lot in a call for bids initiated a year and a half ago by the public authorities, which called on La Poste chairman Jean-Paul Bailly to form a group of orders from large companies interested in acquiring electric vehicles. The invitation to tender was entrusted to the public procurement organization UGAP.

The first phase of the selection process was referred to as “competitive dialog”. Every month, the carmakers taking part in the call for bids met with purchasing representatives from the order group to answer their questions, present the Renault Z.E. range and feed back their needs. This phase was used to build a panorama of the offering and draw up the technical specifications meeting the needs of the members of the order group.

Renault Kangoo Z.E, the first range of full-electric vans, priced from €15,000 (in France, ex VAT, €5,000 environmental bonus deducted), has been available to order in France across the entire Renault network since September 30. It will be making its first physical appearance at more than 370 dealership in France today, followed by gradual launch in all European countries.

Kangoo Z.E. is produced at the Maubeuge plant in France along with its internal-combustion sister. The plant has been specialized in the production of light commercial vehicles for 20 years and is able to continuously adapt to the diversity inherent to this type of vehicle (short and long versions, panel version, etc.) and to sales demand. The choice of Maubeuge enables rapid industrialization while ensuring extremely high quality.

Commenting J. Stoll, executive vice president, Sales and Marketing & Light Commercial Vehicles, said: ‘This success by Renault confirms the relevance of our electric vehicle offering – products and services alike – with business customers. The 19 large companies acquiring Kangoo Z.E. were attracted to its intrinsic qualities and by our original business model, based in particular on battery rental. I would like to warmly thank the customers in the call for bids that placed their trust in us and the Renault employees that made this possible.’