Groupe Renault reveals details of the all electric city car Twingo Z.E.

With Twingo Z.E., Renault’s iconic small city car now has an all-electric option that offers even greater driving pleasure and comfort in everyday life.

Since its first appearance in 1992, Twingo has constantly reinvented itself in line with changing uses and needs. After three generations and almost four million cars sold in 25 countries, Twingo has broken new ground with the launch of its all-electric version, Twingo Z.E.

Renault has leveraged its extensive knowledge of the small city car segment to develop an electric car whose drivability, operating range and features are perfectly suited to the needs of city drivers. Built on a platform designed for electric cars taking advantage of all the electric-vehicle expertise acquired by Groupe Renault over the past ten years, Twingo Z.E. offers performance and pleasure which magnify the factors that have already made Twingo such a success.

Twingo Z.E. takes Twingo's fun design, attractive personality and exclusive customisation possibilities and enhances them with features that underline its electric character. Where driving pleasure and convenience are concerned, Twingo Z.E., just like its internal combustion counterpart, has the industry's best-in-class turning radius. Its electric rear-wheel drive and different driving modes make it even more fun and enjoyable to drive.

With its 22 kWh battery, Twingo Z.E. can zip around the city for a whole week on a single battery charge. The battery boasts latest-generation lithium-ion cells developed in partnership with LG Chem. It has been fitted into the car so as not to alter either the overall roominess or the volume of the boot. Thermal management is provided by a water-cooling system, a first in the Renault Z.E. range.

The Twingo Z.E. powertrain (motor, reduction gear and charger) is based on that of New ZOE and manufactured at Cléon in western France, on the production lines that already manufacture other electric engines for Renault and its partners. It gives the mini city car first-class energy efficiency.

Paired with a Caméléon charger developed by Groupe Renault for ZOE, the Twingo Z.E. battery offers optimised charging across all charging stations in alternative current (AC) up to 22 kW. Its aluminium crash boxes, fully embedded in the battery structure, further strengthen its lateral resistance. The versatile charging system allows it to charge up to four times faster than its competitors at the charging stations most commonly found in public areas. And it makes an even better everyday companion, with its compact size, outstanding roominess and modularity.

New connected services make life easier for drivers across the entire Twingo line and, on Twingo Z.E., include all the features specific to Renault's electric vehicles. Twingo Z.E. adds services to the general EASY CONNECT library that have been specifically created by Renault to support electric-vehicle use. Similar to those featured on New ZOE, they confirm Twingo Z.E.'s place among the best-in-class for electric-vehicle connectivity.

With the EASY LINK onboard system, charging time can be scheduled in order to take advantage of off-peak hours. Once on the road, the system displays the car's range on a map in real time, adds the nearest charging stations on request and updates their availability in real time. Outside the vehicle, drivers can check the battery level during charging from their MY Renault app and remotely control air conditioning and heating to adjust the temperature of the passenger compartment during charging, without affecting the vehicle's range. Drivers can also use the “EV Route Planner” feature to simulate a planned route and identify the necessary charging stations on the way.

Twingo Z.E. is Renault's response to changing demand in the small city car segment, where drivers are looking for practical, fuel-efficient and environment-friendly cars. In an urban context, electric vehicles are the obvious ideal solution for daily commutes.

Twingo Z.E. builds on the iconic status and popularity of Twingo, a long-standing leader in the A-segment on the French market and the fourth best-selling mini city car in Europe. Twingo Z.E. is also the seventh all-electric vehicle developed by Renault, since the Group already has the ZOE model, the Twizy quadricycle and the Kangoo Z.E. and Master Z.E. vans, as well as the RSM SM3 Z.E. saloon, sold in South Korea, and the Renault City K-ZE small SUV, sold in China.

The car is assembled at the Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia, where all Twingo versions are made, and distributed and serviced through the Renault network. All Renault's sales and technical teams in Europe have been given training in the specific features of electric vehicles. The Twingo Z.E. is slated to go on sale later this year