Renault-Nissan Alliance and EDF to Test 100 Units of Production EV Models in Paris Region in 2010; New Partnership in Lombardy

2 July 2009

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and EDF are planning a large-scale electric vehicle test in the Paris region. For one year from September 2010, consumers, professionals and local government employees will try out 100 electric Renault-Nissan Alliance passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance plans to use the full-scale trial to test the usage and performance of their future electric vehicles. The vehicles in the trial will be identical to the series-production models scheduled for launch at the start of 2011.

Participants will be able to use a charging infrastructure at home, at the workplace, in car parks and on the public highway. The experiment has been made possible by a technical and financial partnership between all the public and private parties involved.

This joint initiative by the Renault-Nissan Alliance and EDF is supported by the Paris region and Yvelines local authorities. It was devised in close cooperation with the “Etablissement Public d’Aménagement du Mantois Seine-Aval” (EPAMSA) local planning body.

The project, called SAVE (Seine Aval Véhicules Electriques), will involve a number of private partners. A file has been submitted to the French Energy Management Agency (ADEME) as part of the invitation for expressions of interest announced on 26 June 2009. (Earlier post.) The project will be launched only after the financing necessary for its implementation has been approved.

Separately, the Alliance also signed a memorandum of understanding with Italy’s A2A, an energy company that is the main electricity supplier in Lombardy.

The project, for which the pilot phase (2010) will involve the cities of Milan and Brescia, will focus on:

• Building recharging infrastructure. To this end, A2A is discussing agreements with technology partners to provide recharging points or terminals in public places, company car parks, homes, etc.;

• Defining and trialing innovative electronic payment services in order to provide easy access to the recharging service;

• Training and educating consumers on the use of electric vehicles and their benefits in terms of environmental protection, low fuel consumption and operating costs for the customer;

• Working with the authorities on implementing incentive measures that will encourage consumers to buy and use electric vehicles.

The first field trials will take place in 2010.