You may no longer remember, but just before the Renault Zoe reach the market, the French brand launched the small Renault Twizy , an electric quadricycle (yes, that's how it is defined by the highway code) which in the most basic versions didn't even have doors.
Well, if in 2012, when it was released, Twizy even it became the sales leader among electric cars in Europe , with more than 9000 units sold (in the same year the Nissan Leaf was up to 5000), in the following years and with the end of the novelty factor, the electric from Renault saw sales drop to around 2000 units/year , well below the brand's expectations.
Due to this drop in demand, last autumn production of the Twizy was moved from Valladolid, Spain, to the Renault Samsung factory in Busan, South Korea and, it seems, the change of scenery did good for sales. of the little Renault.
Renault Twizy replaces…motorcycles
According to what was reported by Automotive News Europe, which quotes the Korea Joongang Daily website, in November alone, more than 1400 Renault Twizy were sold in South Korea (do you remember that sales in Europe were around 2000/year?) .
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Even before this sudden success, about a year ago, Renault had already reached an agreement with the South Korean postal service to replace about 10 000 motorcycles (all internal combustion) by “ultra-compact electric vehicles” by 2020. Now, taking into account the range of electric cars from Renault, which model meets this requirement? The Twizy.
Renault has created a commercial version of Twizy.
Faced with this increase in sales, Renault has once again placed strong hopes in its smallest electric, stating that expects to sell by 2024 around 15 thousand Renault Twizy , mainly in South Korea but also in other Asian countries where the small dimensions of the Twizy make it the ideal vehicle to circulate in cities in those countries and a great replacement for motorbikes.
After all, Twizy just needed attention
The words are not ours, but Gilles Normand, Renault's Vice President for Electric Vehicles, who said, "We're pleased to see that every time we pay more attention to it (Twizy), the consumer responds well." Gilles Normand added: "What my team and I discovered is that maybe we were paying little attention to Twizy."
The French brand's Vice President for Electric Vehicles also added that part of the Twizy's success in South Korea is due to the fact that the small car is being used as a work vehicle, while in Europe it is seen more as a medium. of individual transport.
Sources: Automotive News Europe and Korea Joongang Daily