First Renault ZOE sold in Australia

First Australian deliveries of the futuristic Renault ZOE have taken place with five of the compact electric vehicles finding corporate homes in Victoria and NSW.

Melbourne Water has bought two examples of the ZOE, which is priced from $42,470, while Barwon Water and Ausgrid have purchased one each.

Fitted with a 41kWh lithium-ion battery pack, the Renault ZOE is good for a real-world range of around 300km (400km NEDC). Recharging takes around seven hours with a 7kW fast-charger, which can add around 35km of range in an hour.

Although there are virtually no financial incentives for private or fleet buyers to choose an EV in Australia, Melbourne Water managing director Michael Wandmaker said the government-owned company "will no longer purchase any additional combustion engine vehicles where a zero emissions electric vehicle alternative is available."

"By 2023 all of our passenger vehicles will be zero emissions and by the end of 2027 all of our light commercial vehicles will be also," he said, noting his organisation's fleet is 364 vehicles strong.

The Renault Kangoo ZE electric delivery van has also been launched in Australia following a trial with Australia Post, but like the ZOE it will only be sold in a business-to-business and business-to-government capacity. Thus far two Renault Kangoo ZE's have been sold.

At present Renault Australia is not selling the ZOE or Kangoo ZE to individuals and it has only two service points available for the EVs -- one in Melbourne and one in Sydney.

Renault Australia corporate communications manager Emily Fadeyev told motoring.com.au the French importer is looking at selling the vehicles via showrooms to everyday private buyers, but a concrete timeline has not been set.

"We hope to open ZOE to private customers in the near future but at this stage it is not available to them," she stated.

"Currently we have two dealers. We are working on growing that network to expand it to private buyers."

She noted that there was "less demand" from private buyers for the Kangoo ZE, which is currently on sale in Australia to businesses and fleets for $45,990. It has a 270km range.

Although fleet buyers are starting to take EVs more seriously, private buyers in Australia have so far shown a reluctance to jump on the EV bandwagon.

Sales of mainstream EVs such as the Tesla Model S and Nissan LEAF in particular have done little to convince other brands to flood the market with battery-electric vehicles.

Fadeyev says the popularisation of EVs in Australia doesn't necessarily hinge on government incentives, such as those in some European countries and US states, which can make the sticker price of an EV significantly cheaper.

"Some countries have huge support from governments. But some don't and some look at a more holistic view of EV -- whether that's access to priority lanes on the freeway, reserved parking, or reduction in registration, for example.

"From our side we'd like to see discussion around EV and how we can introduce them here but that doesn't have to mean financial support," she stated.

"As demand increases and more and more efficiencies happen, EVs will be more accessible, battery life will be longer and the product range will be wider," she said.

Renault Australia is involved in "ongoing discussions" with more business and government fleet buyers and Fedeyev noted that "further deliveries in the future" will occur.