E-Tech electric cars

An electric car has a motor, which is connected to a battery that stores electricity. This type of vehicle is therefore driven by electric rather than combustive energy (unlike diesel or petrol cars).

This basic characteristic gives rise to several special features:

• The electric vehicle has no gearbox, as the electric motor can easily reach several thousand revolutions per minute and delivers optimum torque from start-up;
• The electric vehicle is silent and odourless (no combustion of hydrocarbons);
• When driving, the electric vehicle emits neither CO₂ nor particles into the atmosphere.
   

On average, an electric car battery can “withstand” 1,000 to 1,500 charge-discharge cycles. Depending on use, this represents a lifespan of 8 to 10 years (perhaps more).

Good to know: E-Tech electric vehicle batteries are guaranteed for 8 years or 160,000 km.

More information on electric vehicle batteries
 

• When choosing your 100% electric vehicle, you need to consider the following:
  average daily distance travelled;
• household size / number of seats and interior space required;
• normal driving environment (city, open road, motorway, etc.).

The answers will help you, for example, to choose between a city car, an SUV or an electric van, and to prioritise criteria such as driving range, vehicle dimensions and engine power.

Another criterion to consider is the purchase price. This will depend on your budget. To better work out the price of an electric car, take into account government subsidies and the savings on running costs (compared with a conventional petrol/diesel model), which will amortise the vehicle’s cost over the mileage driven.

Not necessarily.

A home charging point is a handy piece of equipment.

But there are also many charging stations available to the public in city centres, shopping centres, public car parks, and so on. There is a  networks of fast charging stations on roads and motorways. These charging stations can be easily located using dedicated apps.

Charging at home is therefore just one option.

The distance you can cover with an electric car depends primarily on its range, which in turn depends on the battery capacity (measured in kWh).

However, modern batteries now have greater capacity than they used to. At the same time, features (e.g. Eco mode) and equipment (e.g. heat pump) help to optimise electricity consumption.

As a result, some models can cover hundreds of kilometres without needing to charge the battery. For example, you can travel up to 625 km with the Scenic E-tech electric family car (according to the WLTP cycle). An electric city car, optimised for urban travel, will have a shorter range (410 km for Renault 5).

Good to know:

• The driving environment, driving style, weather conditions and load carried have an impact on the range of an electric car;
• If you are looking for maximum range, you could also consider a hybrid car, which combines an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. As a result, the total range of self-charging Renault E-Tech hybrid vehicles (full hybrid) can reach 1,100 km.
   

Yes, for two reasons.

First of all, the batteries are made of lithium-ion cells, which are sensitive to cold. If the temperature is too low, the battery management system will be less efficient.

Secondly, winter temperatures often mean that the vehicle’s heating system needs to be turned on. This system consumes some of the electrical energy stored in the battery. As a result, range is reduced.

This means charging will need to be done more often in winter. Charging time will also increase.

Remember these two tips to limit the impact of cold weather on your electric car’s range.

• If you can, park the vehicle in a garage or a covered car park.
• If you have a home charging point, preheat the vehicle’s interior when the vehicle is on charge. To help with this, Renault offers a battery preheating system (depending on model and version) to optimise charging power and therefore charging time.