Earth Protect Blog

By Jack Ewing© The New York Times Co.

The French carmaker Renault on Wednesday became the latest to go all in on electric vehicles, saying that by 2030 all but of a fraction of the vehicles bearing its name will be powered by batteries.

During an online presentation, Renault executives outlined a future where electric cars would be cheaper than fossil-fuel models and as practical. Improvements in manufacturing and technology will cut the cost of batteries, the most costly component in an electric car, by more than half by the end of the decade, they said. Vehicles on sale as early as 2026 will be able to recharge to 80% of capacity in 12 minutes, Renault executives said.

“We want to democratize electric technology,” said Luca de Meo, who will mark his first anniversary as chief executive of Renault on Thursday.

The auto industry is increasingly divided between companies that have committed decisively to electric vehicles — such as Volkswagen, General Motors and Volvo — and those that are more cautious — such as BMW and Toyota. Renault joined the converts Wednesday, saying it expected that 90% of Renault brand cars would be electric by 2030.

After losing 8 billion euros, or $9.5 billion, last year, Renault has been struggling to fix its partnership with the Japanese carmaker Nissan and show that it can survive technological upheaval in the car industry.

De Meo argued that Renault can draw on a decade of experience making electric cars, which he said has given the company unique insight into the technology and the behavior of electric car drivers. The compact Renault Zoe is one of the best-selling electric vehicles in Europe but it is an aging design and faces increasing competition from Volkswagen and Tesla.

European car companies are effectively required to sell electric vehicles in order to meet increasingly tough limits on carbon dioxide emissions. Volkswagen had to pay a 100 million euro fine after failing to meet the limits for 2020, in part because software problems delayed the rollout of a new line of batterypowered cars.