THE Renault-Nissan Alliance has signed an agreement with Orange, one of the world’s largest telecommunications operators, to supply it with a fleet of 200 electric vehicles for its needs in France.
Renault-Nissan, the global leader in sustainable mobility, will provide the 100 per cent electric vehicles to Orange by 2015. Orange will use the electric vehicles mostly for car-sharing purposes between its buildings and installations in France. Orange currently has about 2,000 pool vehicles in France with about 100 cars (hybrid, electric, diesel) available for car-sharing purposes. Using the Orange Auto Partage application, employees can book a car for professional or personal use online or via a smartphone.
The Renault-Nissan electric fleet will comprise the Renault ZOE subcompact, the Renault Kangoo Z.E. van, the newly launched Nissan e-NV200 van and the Nissan LEAF, the world’s best-selling electric vehicle ever. Orange already owns a fleet of about thirty tandem 2-seat Twizys it has acquired from Renault since 2012.
“We believe that the use of electric vehicles needs to be encouraged both professionally and privately. Therefore, this agreement with the Renault-Nissan Alliance contributes to helping us meet our commitment to a 20 per cent reduction in our CO2 footprint by 2020,” said Hélène Billon, Orange Facilities & Mobility Management Director. “By that time, we hope to continue the acquisition of more than 1,000 electric vehicles, notably to account for about one-third of our car-sharing fleet in France.”
“Thanks to the partnership between Renault and Nissan, the Alliance is able to provide Orange with the widest range of electric vehicles to meet its needs — from subcompact passenger cars to light-commercial vehicles,” said Christian Mardrus, Alliance Executive Vice President for Renault-Nissan B.V. and the Alliance CEO Office. “More Orange employees will soon be able to enjoy the many benefits of electric mobility: zero noise, smooth handling and acceleration, and zero tailpipe emissions. And the vehicles can be fully recharged with renewable energy at night, so they can be 100 per cent charged every morning.”
Renault-Nissan will accompany Orange in the installation of a network of charging stations at the sites which adopt the car-sharing service.
The electric vehicles procurement agreement between the Alliance and Orange is part of a wider international partnership between the two companies.