Renault announces an entire raft of new offers to boost sales after a brilliant 2016.

• Brand-new two-year 0% APR Selections PCP finance packages introduced across selected models in the Renault range
• Three-year 3.99% APR Selections PCP finance packages enhanced with increased manufacturer contributions for selected models
• Up to £2,410 off the award-winning Renault Twingo – now available from only £7,995
• 250-mile range (NEDC Combined), all-electric Renault ZOE available with £5,000 manufacturer contribution
• Latest offers follow Renault new car sales in the UK reaching a five-year high
• Limited-time offers avoid impending increases in Vehicle Excise Duty on 1 April 2017

Encompassing the vast majority of vehicles in the extensive Renault range – the youngest model line-up of any manufacturer in Europe – Renault is today announcing a selection of offers that make owning a car from the French manufacturer even more of a tempting proposition.

With a strong focus on convenience and affordability, Renault UK has introduced brand-new two-year 0% APR PCP Selections packages. 

Available on New Clio, Captur, All-New Mégane and All-New Mégane Sport Tourer, Kadjar, All-New Scénic and All-New Grand Scénic, these deals offer the lowest monthly payments of any of Groupe Renault UK’s Selections PCP packages and, as with the brand’s other PCP offers, come with the added benefit of no minimum customer deposit.

As an example, the ever-popular New Clio with its recently refreshed styling and enhanced interior and equipment can be driven from only £129 per month on a two-year 0% APR PCP Selections package¹. The deal on the Play 1.2 16V 75 version also includes a manufacturer deposit contribution of £850 and a customer deposit of £3,588.

Additionally, Renault UK’s popular three-year 3.99% APR Selections PCP packages are more affordable than ever. The deposit contributions are now the same as those for similar deals over a four-year duration, with the additional manufacturer support working to lower the total amount payable and the cost of interest.

Available alongside a variety of 0% APR HP offers, the new and revised Selections PCP packages ensure that drivers enjoy even greater choice when it comes to financing their new Renault.

Cash buyers also benefit from the limited time offers. Notably, there are sizeable savings across the innovative, rear-engined, rear-wheel drive Renault Twingo range with prices starting from only £7,995 for the Expression SCe 70 – representing a saving of £1,500 on the normal list price up to savings of £2,410 on the Dynamique S TCe 90 Auto which is now available from £11,395.

Multiple cash offers are available for anyone considering joining the ever-increasing number of drivers choosing an electric vehicle with the multiple award-winning Renault ZOE in Expression Nav guise available from £11,995 (inc PiCG) – representing a £2,000 customer saving. With the longest range of any mainstream electric vehicle – up to 250 miles (NEDC Combined) or an estimated 186 miles in real world conditions – the New ZOE Dynamique R90 Z.E 40 is now available for £15,845 (inc PiCG), representing a customer saving of £2,000.

Alternatively, the New ZOE Dynamique R90 Z.E 40 can be driven away available on a five year 0% APR HP package with nil customer deposit and a £2,500 manufacturer deposit contribution. In addition to all retail purchases, customers will receive a free** 7kW Wall-Box home charger, making their ownership experience of the four-time winner of the What Car? ‘Best Electric Car for up to £20,000’ and their 2017 ‘Electric Car of the Year’ even more convenient.

With the offers available on vehicles registered by the end of March, customers will save further by avoiding the changes in Vehicle Excise Duty that are applicable from 1 April 2017. By ordering and registering their new Renault before this date they can potentially enjoy three-figure savings.

Customers will also benefit from the Renault 4+ warranty and Renault Assistance vehicle recovery scheme, which comes as standard with every Renault and provides the ultimate peace of mind for four years or 100,000 miles.

Renault car sales in the UK reached a five year high in 2016 with 85,102 vehicles sold. 

^1. New Clio Play 1.2 16V 75 – representative example:

Monthly payments over terms of agreement	£129
Customer deposit	£3,588
Cash price	£13,415
Dealer deposit contribution	£850
Total amount of credit	£8,977
Finance facility fee	£99
Optional final payment	£5,881
Option to purchase fee	£149
Total amount payable	£13,415
Duration	25 months
Fixed interest rate p.a.	0%
0% APR representative

Renault ZOE customers will continue to receive a free fast-charging wall-box at their home.

• Renault ZOE customers continue to receive a free fast-charging wallbox
• Wallbox adds to Renault ZOE’s ease of ownership
• Offer is unique in the UK electric vehicle market place
• Represents a customer saving of nearly £500
• Renault ZOE attracts maximum £4,500 support in new PiCG categories

Following the announcement of the changes to the Government Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) and Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme, Renault is to continue its unique customer offer of supplying a free fully-installed fast-charging wallbox to new ZOE customers¹.

Available to retail customers, the 7kW charging wallbox is supplied and installed by Renault’s partner, Chargemaster, at the customer’s domestic address as part of the price of the Renault ZOE. 

Chargemaster is the UK’s most successful supplier and operator of charging equipment, having shipped more than 45,000 charging points in the last five years across the UK and nine European countries from its dedicated UK-based manufacturing facilities. This offer is unique in the UK electric vehicle market place and tops-up the Government grant towards a domestic charger, saving the customer nearly £500. 

As of 1st March 2016, the Office Low Emission Vehicles has revised the PiCG support for the three pre-existing categories 2 and now gives the greatest financial incentive to vehicles that emit 0g/km CO₂ and have a zero emission range of 70 miles or over. ZOE is in category 1 as it exceeds these criteria and therefore attracts the maximum £4,500 support level.  Vehicles in categories 2 and 3 now receive £2,500 – under the previous PiCG rules all categories received the same £5,000 amount.

The Chargemaster 7kW Homecharge unit allows ZOE owners to charge their vehicle from flat to full in 3-4 hours at their home. Using the My ZE Inter@ctive timer app customers are able to schedule the time that ZOE is charged and benefit from significantly lower off-peak electricity prices. 

Ben Fletcher, Electric Vehicle Product Manager, Groupe Renault UK, commented: “The Electric Vehicle market is growing at an unprecedented rate, and a big part of that is customers discovering just how cost-effective and easy to live with these cars are. By continuing to provide a home-charging unit installed at the customer’s address, we’re able to ensure that these points are even stronger for the ZOE than the competition, with customers able to fully charge in just 3-4 hours at home as standard.”

ZOE is fitted with a patented Chameleon™ charger that, unlike other EVs, always allows ZOE to make the best use of whatever charging supply is available in order to speed up charging times. ZOE Dynamique Nav Rapid Charge can charge at up to 43kW, meaning that 0 to 80 per cent full can be achieved in as little as 30 minutes, depending on version. ZOE customers benefit from six months’ free membership to the POLAR Plus network, the UK’s largest public network offering access to over 4,000 charging points that span from 3kW-22kW. The ZOE is also able to make full use of nearly 600 rapid AC chargers installed at key nationwide locations, such as motorway service stations.

The ZOE is an all-electric, five-door supermini available in three trim levels that comes with a high level of standard specification, including items such as climate control and sat-nav. ZOE also has a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating and was recently awarded the title of What Car? ‘Best Electric Car for less than £20,000’ for the third consecutive year, and ‘Best Electric Vehicle’ in the Auto Express Driver Power 2015 survey.

The model’s official NEDC range is up to 149 miles – Renault estimates that in real-world driving conditions that this equates to around 106 miles in summer and 71 miles in winter.

ZOE is available to purchase in two ways. Firstly, under a battery hire scheme, where ZOE pricing starts at £13,945 after the Government Plug-in Car Grant with battery leasing from £45 per month. Benefits include a lifetime performance guarantee for the battery and 24/7 roadside assistance – even if you run out of charge.

You can also buy your ZOE outright. ZOE i ‘full purchase’ models start from £18,945 after the Government Plug-in Car Grant, giving the buyer full ownership of the car and battery and no monthly battery lease payment.

Selected ZOE models are also currently available with a number of Renault Selections PCP, hire purchase and cash purchase offers.

Renault offers a range of electric vehicles to suit private and commercial requirements. In addition to the ZOE hatchback, the Renault EV range comprises of the innovative, two-seater Twizy city car, Twizy Cargo that offers a load area of 180 litres and a useful 75 kg payload, and the Kangoo Z.E and Kangoo Maxi Z.E vans that combine the same generous load capacity and options as the equivalent diesel versions with ultra-low running costs.

In 2015, Renault was the European market leader for electric cars, with ZOE, and with electric vans, with Kangoo Van Z.E., and sold a total of 23,086 units EVs (including Twizy).

In the UK, 2015 ZOE sales more than doubled (up by 102 per cent) to 2,053 vehicles, significantly outpacing the UK electric vehicle market, which was up 48 per cent on 2014. ZOE is the second best-selling electric car in the UK representing one in five EVs sold.

All-New Volvo XC-90 T8 Twin Engine receives approval for Plug-In Car grant.

Volvo’s first ever petrol plug-in hybrid, the XC90 T8 Twin Engine, has qualified for the UK Plug-in Car Grant (PICG) scheme from the Office of Low Emissions (OLEV). The new XC90 T8 Twin engine is now available with an on-road price of £54,955 (including PICG).

The award-winning XC90 is the first car to be built on Volvo’s first in-house designed and built platform (SPA – Scalable Product Architecture), powered by Volvo’s new Drive-E powertrains.

  

The SPA platform is designed to incorporate electrification without encroaching on interior space, with the necessary battery pack being neatly concealed within the centre console. The Drive-E powertrain, from its initial concept, was designed to include electrification, with the new XC90 utilising both a 320hp petrol engine and 87hp electric motor.

With a combined output of 407hp, this 7-seat SUV emits an impressively low figure of just 49g/km of CO₂, at the same time being able to go from stand still to 60mph in only 5.3 seconds.

The XC90 T8 Twin engine allows the driver to choose multiple drive modes:

• Pure – allows drivers to use electric energy for up to 28 miles with zero exhaust emissions
• Hybrid – uses a combination of the electrical and petrol motors to achieve reduced CO₂ exhaust emissions
• Power – utilises the full power from both the petrol and electric motors allowing the driver to use the full 407hp available

The Plug in Car Grant (PICG) has a designed criteria to encourage manufactures to decrease the level of outputted CO₂ exhaust emissions. To achieve this, hybrid vehicles must emit less than 75g/km, a minimal travelling range of 10 miles and must reach a speed of at least 60mph.

Companies choosing the XC90 T8 Twin Engine can benefit by writing down as much as 100% of the cost against their income tax liability. Driver who choose the XC90 T8 Momentum pay as little as £99.83 BIK a month (40% tax payer) whilst enjoying a full 7-seat SUV with 407hp.

The XC90 T8 is available in three designs: Momentum, R-Design and Inscription.

Changes to government taxation means EV cars can reduce their prices by a significant sum.

• Renault welcomes decision to introduce banding to Plug-in Car Grant
• Renault ZOE now up to £552 cheaper from 1 April 2015
• Renault EV sales in the UK rose 90 per cent in 2014

Renault welcomes the changes to the Plug-in Car Grant announced today by the Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

The Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) changes that will take effect from 1 April 2015 recognise the technological and environmental progress that vehicles have made since the original grant was announced in 2010 and provide further financial incentive for motorists to move to Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles such as the Renault Z.E. (Zero Emissions) range.

Commenting on the announcement, Ken Ramirez, Managing Director, Renault UK said: “We welcome the changes announced today by OLEV as the move to a banding system for grant funding recognises the real-world practicality and zero tailpipe emission advantages that electric vehicles have over other types of alternative fuel vehicles.

“The Renault ZOE hatchback was already the most affordable electric vehicle on the market. The move to the 35 per cent funding for cars in the lowest emitting band will make ZOE even more affordable and encourage yet more motorists to move to zero tailpipe emission vehicles.” added Ramirez.

The changes to the PiCG from 1 April 2015 mean that a Renault ZOE will reduce in price by £552 on the Expression trim level and by £152 on the Dynamique trim levels due to the move from a 25 per cent of vehicle value cap on the grant to a 35 per cent cap for vehicles in the new Band One (up to 75g/km and a range of 70 miles or above).

The Renault ZOE is a 5-door hatchback that has been designed from the ground-up to offer all the advantages of a practical supermini, including a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating, with the environmental and running cost savings of a pure electric vehicle. 

ZOE has an official NEDC range of 130 miles from one charge. Thanks to its patented Chameleon™ charger, and unlike its rivals, it is able to adapt itself and make the optimum use of any charging power source and therefore charge from empty to 80 per cent capacity in just 30 minutes – be that at home with the free charging wallbox that comes with the car when new or from a wide range of public sources.

Renault was a pioneer in the emerging electric vehicle market and offers a range of 100% electric cars and vans to suit most requirements. The ZOE supermini sits alongside the fun and distinctive Twizy urban run-around.  Twizy is also available in a commercial vehicle version with a boot instead of a rear passenger seat – Twizy Cargo. Completing the Renault Z.E line-up is the Kangoo Van Z.E. – the perfect urban van for deliveries and tradesmen and is available in a range of bodystyles. 

The Twizy is priced from £6,895, the ZOE from £13,995 (after the PiCG) and the Kangoo Van Z.E. from £12,995+VAT (after the Plug-in Van Grant). 

Renault electric vehicle sales in the United Kingdom rose by 90 per cent in 2014, to 1,286 vehicles. Total Renault electric vehicle sales in Europe in 2014 stood at 17,580 vehicles – 11,231 of which were ZOEs, an amount up 27 per cent on 2013.

Volvo's first plug in hybrid diesel is a great success, now with UK grant its £5k cheaper

The world's first diesel plug-in hybrid, the Volvo V60 D6 AWD, has received approval for the Government's Plug-In Car Grant (PICG) which is designed to offer incentives for buyers to choose new ultra-low carbon cars.  In this scheme, buyers will receive a £5000 grant towards the purchase price of the vehicle, meaning it will be available with an on-the-road price of £43,775.

In order to qualify for the grant, the vehicle must fulfil a number of conditions, such as battery warranty, crash safety, battery safety and also CO₂ emissions.  With quality, safety and the environment being strong brand values of the Volvo Cars Group, these were always on the project team's agenda.

Ian Howat, head of product and pricing at Volvo Car UK, said: "The V60 Plug-in Hybrid has been a worldwide success with the initial run of 1000 cars sold out before the car reached the showrooms.  Now that we have received the UK Government's plug-in grant I'm sure the world's first plug-in diesel hybrid will become even more attractive to UK customers wishing to purchase leading vehicle technology."

The driver of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid is putting an end to compromise via three driving mode buttons on the dashboard: Pure, Hybrid and Power.

• In Pure mode the car is powered solely by its electric motor as much as possible. If the battery pack has been recharged with electricity from renewable sources, its range is up to 31 miles with no carbon dioxide emissions from the tailpipe. The electric range varies with terrain, climate and driving style.
• Hybrid is the standard setting whenever the car is started. The diesel engine and electric motor cooperate to ensure optimal balance between driving pleasure and environmental footprint. CO₂ emission (NEDC, mixed driving cycle for certification) is just 48g/km and it has a total range of up to 560 miles.
• In Power mode the technology is optimised to give the car the maximum possible power. The diesel engine and electric motor have a total power output of 215+70 horsepower and maximum torque of 440+200Nm. The electric motor's lightning-quick torque delivery contributes to the car's acceleration from 0 to 62mph in 6.1 seconds.

The model year 2014 Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid will be unveiled at next week's Geneva Motorshow and it features a number of updates to the styling of the interior and exterior. Full price and specification levels are expected during April, with customer deliveries taking place from July.