Dame Ellen Macarthur Charges Up The Mall In Renault's Zero-Emission Fluence

PARIS – Sept 14, 2010: Dame Ellen MacArthur gave the British public their first chance to see the all-electric Renault Fluence Z.E. in action yesterday, driving a prototype in The Prince of Wales’ Start Eco Car Spectacular on The Mall, London.

The Start Eco Car Spectacular was one of the key events that made up a 12-day festival created by HRH The Prince of Wales to showcase a sustainable future.

Renault’s unprecedented charge into the zero-emission electric vehicle arena commences in Europe in mid-2011. The French brand’s assault begins with an initial four-model Z.E. (Zero Emission) family, designed to be an affordable, mass-market proposition. The first of Renault’s innovative, fully-electric vehicles will be the Kangoo Z.E. Van. In 2012, it will be joined by the Fluence Z.E. four-door saloon together with a city vehicle based on the two-seater Twizy concept and a five-door supermini.

After driving a prototype Fluence Z.E., Dame Ellen commented, “You would never know this car is electric, it looks like a normal car that anyone would have on their drive. I think what is fantastic about this car is that it’s designed to be the same price as a normal car.”

Dame Ellen’s passion for sustainability and innovation has lead to the recent launch of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which works with business and education to inspire people to re-think, re-design and build a sustainable future. Renault is contributing its expertise, case studies and employee volunteers, to support the Foundation and Ellen on her new journey.

Pre-booking for the Fluence and Kangoo Van Z.E. models is already available. For more information on both, together with full details on Renault’s ‘Zero Emission Vehicles for All’ plans, see http://www.renault-ze.co.uk/#/uk.html. For further information on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, please visit www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org