Renault has had a sustainable development policy for several years. What R&D projects are you working on that are related to sustainable development?

I will list three, each of which is a response to different needs and types of driving.

• The launch in the very near future of cars with combustion engines that are far less polluting. The Logan Renault eco² Concept consumes less than 3l/100 km, convincing proof of these engines' efficiency
• In the mid-term, the launch of full electric vehicles in consumer markets
• In the longer term, fuel cell technology

What about biofuels? Does Renault see them as an interesting avenue of research?

Biofuels have made a very noticeable entrance in many countries. Renault is very interested in them and is marketing models with dual-fuel engines that run on gasoline and ethanol, for example. That's the case in Brazil (flex fuel). In Europe, the requirements are different. The European Union has set ambitious objectives for incorporating biofuels in the total quantity of fuel consumed: 5.75% in 2010 – we probably will not get there – and 8% in 2015. To have an idea of how far we have to go, recall that in 2005 we were at 1.4%. For Renault, as for all carmakers, the difficulty lies in the different compositions of biofuels on the market. Renault is trying to design versatile engines that can run on multiple types of biofuels produced from different substances.

Is fuel economy a question of technology alone?

No, the driver has a lot to do with it. The good performance of the Logan Renault eco² Concept demonstrator I mentioned earlier are due in large part to the driver, who is told by a gearshift indicator system when to change gears. This optimizes consumption.