Renault is currently taking reservations for the 2012 Renault Fluence Z.E., an all electric car designed to compete with the Nissan Leaf. Initially Renault is hoping to sell 100,000 units in Israel and Denmark, not sure why these two countries were chosen but we are assured that Renault is aiming to sell to the greater EU and North America before 2015. Pricing details of the Fluence are not yet public however Renault have made it clear that they will be adopting the same strategy as Nissan by selling the car to customers but maintaining ownership of the battery systems and leasing them to Fluence owners for a monthly fee.

The Fluence is a bit of a step away from the great looking original concept (pictured below), which is always a shame to see. Why car manufacturers insist on teasing people with magnificent looking concept vehicles and then turning out plain vanilla production units is lost on me. They’re letting us all know that they could create great looking cars if they wanted to. They just don’t want to. It’s like an automotive “meh”.

The Fluence Z.E. will have a range of 99 miles, not sure why Renault didn’t throw in a couple of extra AA lithium ion batteries to boost the range into 3 figures but I’m sure they have their reasons. The 22 kWh lithium ion battery system is compatible with Better Place’s quick-drop battery swap and if you’re recharging it’ll take 30 minutes from a 32A/400V station and 6-8 hours from a household 220 volt wall socket.

For further information or to pre-reserve one for yourself, head over to Renault-ZE.

Via Renault

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