Renault recently announced more than 15,000 Kangoo Z.E. electric vans are to be ordered over a four-year period by 19 of France’s largest companies, which took part in the call for bids. This success confirms the relevance of Renault‘s Electric Vehicle business model and the intrinsic qualities of Kangoo Z.E.. Renault Kangoo Z.E, the first range of full-electric vans has been available to order in France across the entire Renault network since September 30.

The Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing & Light Commercial Vehicles, Jerome Stoll said:

“This success by Renault confirms the relevance of our electric vehicle offering – products and services alike – with business customers. The 19 large companies acquiring Kangoo Z.E. were attracted to its intrinsic qualities and by our original business model, based in particular on battery rental. I would like to warmly thank the customers in the call for bids that placed their trust in us and the Renault employees that made this possible.”

Renault Kangoo Z.E. is produced at the … Read More

Nissan has developed a ‘Wireless Charging System’ that allows recharging simply by parking the vehicle. Charging is able to start automatically once the vehicle is above the charging device installed in the ground of the car park.

BMW has already started to drip-feed details of its 2014 i3 electric car to the press. Last month, BMW unveiled its latest concept i3 at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, confirming its 7.9 second 0-62 mph time, electronically limited top speed of 93 mph and range-extender engine option.

BMW wants to produce a car which is 100% recyclable, including the electric motor, the battery pack, the dashboard and the seats. BMW will use naturally grown fibers to make seat and dash components instead of oil-derived plastics, something it hopes will help the BMW i brand become a sign of luxury in its future cars. The battery pack will be a prismatic lithium-ion battery made by Bosch and Samsung. The pack’s weigh should be around 500 pounds, so it’s the same amount saved by using aluminum and carbon fiber to build the i3’s chassis.

BMW i3 should be one of the lightest electric cars and can easily achieve the 100 mile range.

Tesla Motors recently announced that its 2012 Model S electric sport sedan will use Panasonic lithium-ion cells in its battery pack.

Over the next four years, Panasonic will supply enough commodity lithium-ion cells to allow Tesla Motors to build more than 80,000 Model S electric vehicles. Tesla‘s battery pack uses large numbers of small cells wired together reducing its costs substantially compared to the larger-format lithium-ion cells used by other electric cars.

According to a recent press release, the Panasonic cells used by Tesla Motors for the Model S offer the highest energy density and industry-leading performance. Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk said using Panasonic‘s cells would give the Model S unrivaled range and performance.

The Model S is expected to hit the streets in 2012, and Tesla says it has more than 6,000 reservations to buy the electric sedan.