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INTERVIEW OF THIERRY KOSKAS

How will the future electric vehicle work? And what changes should we expect? Interview with Thierry Koskas, head of Renault's electric vehicle project.

How will people go about buying an electric vehicle? Will there be any changes at the dealership? 

Thierry Koskas, head of Renault's electric vehicle project

Today you buy your car and drive away from the dealership. In the future, you will buy an electric vehicle, rent a battery and sign a contract to use recharge stations located in the street, near the office and in parking lots.

 

That makes three operations to take into account. People will be able to do all of them at the dealership as part of a one stop shop – car purchase, battery hire and energy contract included.

What kind of offers will exist for energy supply?  

There could be a range of different offers, as in the world of mobile phones. First possibility: you simply pay each time you recharge your car at a station (around €2 to “fill up” the car).

 

Another possibility would be to subscribe to a monthly price plan. For example, you could get 1,000 km in mileage for a €20 monthly fee.

 

We will be able to bring each customer a tailored package that corresponds to their vehicle use.

How will people recharge their electric vehicle? 

We’re looking at three possibilities. First, recharging at home, or “standard” recharge, taking from four to eight hours. The best time to do this is at night, so the next morning your car’s fully charged and ready to go. The second possibility is taking your car to a rapid recharge station, where recharges will take 20 to 30 minutes. The third option is a an original by Renault, consisting of battery exchange stations called “quick drop”. It will be a little like driving into an automatic car wash, only the machine will remove your car’s battery and replace it with another. And in three minutes you have a fully charged battery.

Are carmakers working together, notably in terms of standardizing sockets, batteries, and battery exchange stations? 

We are developing “quick drop” technology together with Nissan. It is entirely likely that other carmakers will adopt the same principle. The main problem is that batteries today have different shapes according to the vehicle. So if other brands wanted to use these stations, we would obviously have to standardize batteries. I think that in the long term  we will be able to make the “quick drop” stations compatible for all electric vehicles.

 

In terms of recharge stations, we are holding discussions at a European level with all the carmakers to make sure everyone uses the same socket format.

Can electric energy really be considered clean? Won’t it have an impact on electricity production? 

Fluence Z.E. Concept

It would take an electric car population of millions to have any impact on electricity consumption and production. Our electricity capacity is completely underused at night, so if customers are persuaded to recharge their cars at night there will be no impact on energy production.

 

Obviously the story would be different if half the car population were to become electric. I’d love that to be the case, but I think it’s something only my successor will see…

 

Key data:

 

  • 80% of car trips in Europe are under 60 km
  • The Renault-Nissan Alliance is investing €200 million a year in EVs
  • Range: around 160 km for normal vehicle use
  • 10-yr projection: EVs could account for 15% to 25% of annual car sales in Europe
  • Nissan has been working on lithium-ion battery design since 1992
  • Standard battery charge (at home): 4 to 8 hours; recharge at rapid station: 20 minutes; battery exchange at “quick drop”: 3 minutes

Also on Renault.com