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Renault Electric Car Unveiled in Kish

Renault Electric Car Unveiled in Kish
Renault Electric Car Unveiled in Kish

Renault's first electric car to hit the Iranian market, called Fluence Z.E., was unveiled on Kish Island on Saturday, IRIB reported.

The vehicle is imported to be used in Kish Free Zone only, but there are plans to promote its use in other provinces, too. The price in Kish is now $40,256. It can be purchased 50 percent in cash, with the remainder 50 percent to be paid in installments over a six-month period.

The price will not differ considerably in the mainland as there are no import tariffs for hybrid and electric vehicles.

The Renault Fluence Z.E. is an electric version of the Renault Fluence compact sedan, part of the Renault Z.E. program of battery electric vehicles. It was the first electric car enabled with battery swapping technology. It can be charged in three different ways.

It was first unveiled by Renault at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Fluence Z.E. is outfitted with a 22 kWh lithium-ion battery which allows a total all-electric range of 185 km measured on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) combined cycle, with speeds up to 135 km/h (84 mph).

Around 25 percent of gasoline-fueled vehicles on Kish Island are to be replaced with vehicles running on clean energy resources, said Rasoul Keshtpour, senior advisor to the Kish Free Zone Organization, at the ceremony in which the new vehicle was unveiled.

  Clean-Fueled Vehicles on Demand

Demand for electric motorcycles is gradually increasing as the government aims to regulate and decrease motor vehicle pollution in Tehran and other metropolises.

Referring to the renovating plans for 17,000 dilapidated taxis across Tehran, managing director of Tehran Municipality's Taxi Driving Company (TDC) called on automobile manufacturers to produce hybrid cars.

"Hybrid vehicles are of great benefit in a city facing pollution and traffic crisis, and thus we have requested SAIPA Group to design hybrid taxis for Tehran," Meysam Mozaffar was quoted by Shana news agency as saying Saturday.

Financial resources are made available in next year's budget for Tehran TDC to acquire hybrid vehicles. TDC has pledged to allocate loans with an interest rate of 15 percent through the City Bank for each hybrid/electric vehicle.

Tehran Municipality recently announced plans to bring some 400,000 electric motorcycles and 120,000 hybrid taxis to the streets. The municipality offers 80% of the vehicles’ price in the form of loans with no interest. Buyers will have to clear the debt during a three-year period. But the prices are not still affordable for most motorcycle owners.

About 800,000 motorcycles are sold each year in Iran, while 90% of this number comes from China with high carbon dioxide concentration rates.

 

Financialtribune.com