Renault New Zealand has dropped the fully electric Zoe from its line-up, following the zero-star safety rating the model received from NCAP in December last year.
As initially reported by Richard Bossleman of MotoringNZ.com, Renault New Zealand general manager Sam Waller confirmed that the decision stemmed directly from the Zoe’s poor NCAP performance.
“Obviously safety is essential for Renault … an [NCAP] score of zero made us relook at that model,” Waller said. “We made the decision, for our customers, and we stand by that.”
The poor rating was not only a blight on the brand’s reputation for safety, but also meant that the Zoe would be locked out of several fleet programmes; many of which have a minimum 3-star rating safety requirement.
The Zoe scored a 5-star NCAP rating in 2013, but numerous revisions to the testing body’s regulations over the nine years since coupled with some safety tech not being standardised across the full range in overseas markets resulted in the ratings slump.
“Renault was once synonymous with safety. The Laguna was the first car to get five stars, back in 2001. But these disappointing results for the ZOE and the Dacia Spring show that safety has now become collateral damage in the group’s transition to electric cars,” said Euro NCAP Michiel van Ratingen following the test.
“It is cynical to offer the consumer an affordable green car if it comes at the price of higher injury risk in the event of an accident. Other cars, such as the FIAT 500e, recently awarded 5 stars in Green NCAP, show that safety does not need to be sacrificed for environmental cleanliness.”
The move leaves Renault’s local arm in an awkward position, where it has no plug-in passenger vehicles in its line-up, barring the Kangoo EV commercial, at a time when domestic interest in electric vehicles is peaking.
The brand will now have to wait for Renault’s next electric passenger vehicle to come down the pipe, most likely in the form of the Megane e-Tech Electric. Although when this model will arrive is an unknown.
MotoringNZ reports that e-Tech right-hand drive production had been expected to commence by July of this year, only to be delayed by the global semiconductor shortage. This means the model may not hit New Zealand until 2023.
Renault is also currently working on its retro-styled Renault 5, a homage to the 1970s hatchback of the same name. It’s slated for European launch in 2025.
“I’m not going to speculate on what it is,” Waller said when asked about what the brand’s next EV would be. “But there is a very exciting product line-up coming. We will communicate to the market when the time is right and when we have clarity from the factory.”
In the meantime, the brand is likely to launch more petrol-assisted hybrid models into the market. The hybrid version of the recently launched Arkana has already been confirmed for New Zealand. It uses a 1.6-litre engine paired with dual electric motors and a 1.2kWh battery pack.
“The future is extremely bright for Renault and we are really excited by the future product, that we will announce to the market in coming months,” Waller added.
“New Zealand is going toward low-emission vehicles, EVs will be the future of this brand and when they become available to us, we will be very excited.”
