Renault electric production ready to roll

Renault Trucks is poised to begin production of its electric D and D Wide Z.E. trucks on the same line as conventional models.

An additional Z.E. building located next to the main production line at Renault Trucks’ factory in Blainville-sur-Orne, France, is used to prepare various electric-specific sub-assemblies, including the powertrain and control units, starting one week before assembly of the vehicle commences.

These units are then transported to the main assembly line, and built into a truck in the same manner as a conventional diesel vehicle. Having reached the end of the assembly line, the electric trucks are then returned to the Z.E. building for final technical operations and quality tests.

Renault Trucks predicts that electric vehicles will represent ten per cent of its sales volume by 2025.

Meanwhile, Renault Trucks UK has selected EO Charging, one of the UK’s leading electric vehicle charger manufacturers, as charging partner in its first retail and SME e-mobility campaign. The first 50 Renault Trucks Master Z.E. vans ordered by retail and SME operators in the UK in 2020 will receive a free 22kW EO Genius smart charger.

Grahame Neagus, Head of LCV for Renault Trucks UK, explains: “Many operators are unsure how to make the move to electromobility, and we want to make that transition as easy as possible. The Renault Trucks Master Z.E. can be specified in a wide range of vehicle applications, and in working with EO Charging we can offer a charging solution which is as capable and flexible as our fully electric vehicle.”

The EO Genius is one of EO’s industry leading commercial EV (electric vehicle) chargers and is a smart enabled chargepoint that is modular, scalable and future proof.