Renault surprises with new 2017 ZOE w/ ~200 miles of range on 41 kWh battery available next month

We reported earlier this month on rumours that Renault was about to unveil a new all-electric ZOE with a bigger battery pack equipped with cells by LG Chem for a significantly longer range. As it turns out, the rumours are true and the French automaker will include the new pack in its 2017 lineup for the ZOE going on sale next month.

While the rumours came from anonymous sources talking to the French media, now the new information comes from a leak of the specs sheet and promotional material for the Dutch market.

It was quickly taken down by Renault, as pointed out by some of our readers in the Netherlands and Germany (thanks), but it was up long enough to get a confirmation that the 2017 Renault Zoe will be offered with a 41 kWh battery pack option for a NEDC-rated range of 400 km (~250 miles).

As usual, we would expect the actual real world range to be closer to 200 miles.

The 22 kWh option will still be available, but for only a €2,500 difference, in the Netherlands at least, it looks like at €31,890 the 41 kWh option will be very popular. That’s for direct sale, it’s not clear yet how the new battery pack will affect the battery leasing scheme, which is most popular in France but less so in other markets where Renault offers the ZOE.

As the rumours suggested, the 2017 ZOE is also getting a new motor. The small vehicle is certainly not known for its performance, but the small bump to a 65 kW motor (up from 57) is welcomed.

Based on the Dutch promotional material for the 2017 model, it looks like the vehicle is still equipped with a 43 kW fast-charging capacity.

It’s an interesting development in the European EV market since the Renault ZOE is going to become the longest range option for ~€30,000 price range. The Ampera E, the European version of the Chevy Bolt EV, is not expected to hit the market for another 6 to 10 months and the Tesla Model 3 is not likely to make it to Europe until mid to late 2018.

We should have more details ahead of the Paris Motor Show in the next few days.