French rental firm E.Leclerc orders 4,000 electric vehicles

French rental firm E.Leclerc Location has ordered 4,000 electric vehicles (3,000 Dacia Spring and 1,000 Renault ZOEs) to be used as rental vehicles to encourage electric mobility in France.

E.Leclerc started working on its programme to foster electric mobility with Renault in 2010. It began equipping its supermarket and hypermarket car parks with charging stations in 2011, buying Renault ZOE cars for its employees to use on the job in 2012, and setting up clubs of “ambassadors” in French regions to stimulate clean mobility in 2013. It has built this programme around making electric mobility more available and providing an education on electric mobility. E.Leclerc has also endorsed the French Transport Ministry’s plan to set up 100,000 charging stations, and announced on October 12th that it aims to grow its existing charging capacity to reach 5,000 stations over the next two years then 10,000 by 2025.

This new partnership between Groupe Renault and E.Leclerc Location will fast-track efforts to bring the electric mobility experience to more people across France, at the most affordable pricing in the market.

“I’m glad we can encourage our customers to go electric on such a large scale. This way, they can try out the cars no strings attached, then adopt this kind of mobility over time. This is exactly the point of all our efforts for the environment and purchasing power. Thanks to Groupe Renault and its brand Dacia, we will be able to provide a particularly affordable deal. This is a real step forwards, to build the market for the universal vehicle of the future!” Michel-Edouard Leclerc, Chairman of Centres E.Leclerc’s Strategy Committee.

“In their respective fields, E.Leclerc and Dacia offer inexpensive, trustworthy, high-quality alternatives within everyone’s reach. By offering Dacia Spring cars, which are the most reasonably-priced electric vehicles in Europe, E.Leclerc is opening the door to electric mobility for all, in as many parts of France as possible. This is an exciting, purposeful partnership and it will contribute to another of the commitments we share: building a carbon-free society. Tomorrow’s mobility will be built in ecosystems, together, and it starts with partnerships like this.” Luca de Meo, CEO of Groupe Renault.