Our impact is therefore of a different scale

Renault releases CO2 and pollutant emissions limitation strategy becomes clearer. Patrick Pélata, Deputy Director of the group, in book outline. This broad strategy is the use of biofuels to electric vehicles, field in which Renault was in 1990s one of the pioneers, although the experience with captive fleets turned short.

Is Renault ready to return a day on the market for electric vehicles

We are devoted to the motor car market which contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We have considered with Nissan, the market for vehicle fleets travelling in urban areas is ideal for electric vehicles. We wish to bring to market an electric utility vehicle in 2010. To do this, we launched a year ago, in common with Nissan, the development of electric. It includes battery lithium-ion, the electric motor, the energy recovery system and heating. Partners are selected not all. We need to develop this technology of electric vehicle on market niches. Longer term, to offer electric vehicles to individuals, we must still lower the price and the mass of the batteries.

Are you always reserved on hybrid vehicles

Renault continues its developments in the field of hybrid engines, but we are not, today, satisfactory economic equation. Environmentally, the potential gain that these solutions is far from what issue the other technologies. A Toyota Prius emits 104 grams of CO2 per kilometre on paper, against 120 grams for a Megane dCi in comparison to an average of 160 grams in 2005 European Park, Editor's note. But we sell more than 100,000 per year, against a few thousand. Our impact is therefore of a different scale. In addition, we work on the runway of the small hybrid for the future. There is not a winning technology, but several solutions to the different needs of users and the availability of energy resources.

How to make the additional costs linked to also acceptable environment by the client

On a life cycle of 200,000 kilometres, the example of the Prius and Megane dCi allows to calculate a difference of 3.2 tonnes of CO2. It is a price difference of sale of nearly 3,000 euros to the Renault. The cost per ton of CO2 saved on the Prius therefore amounts to 900 euros, whereas the tonne of CO2 is rated at 10 euros on the emissions market! It is therefore somewhat surprising that a solution almost 100 times more expensive than the market is the subject of tax incentives. Sometimes, Governments are turning more easily to things that are and not the most effective solutions. In Renault, we value per ton of CO2 not emitted over the life of the car in the amount of 150 euros. We indeed do not exceed 15 times higher than the market price.

Are consumption gains not absorbed by increasingly high and heavy vehicles

We are the best in crash test Euro NCAP, and this allows to save human lives in frontal and lateral shocks. But there are certain standards against which we we are beaten, such as those governing pedestrian shock. They are saving only a minimal number of lives and induce an increase in the height of the cars and a degradation of aerodynamics. These two factors result in an increase in consumption and thus CO2 emissions.