Renault unveils new ‘affordable’ K-ZE all-electric crossover

Ahead of the Paris Motor Show today, Renault has unveiled a new ‘affordable’ all-electric crossover: the Renault K-ZE.

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Groupe Renault, presented the new vehicle:

“Groupe Renault was a pioneer and is the European leader in electric vehicles. We are introducing Renault K-ZE, an affordable, urban, SUV-inspired electric model combining the best of Groupe Renault: our leadership in EV, our expertise in affordable vehicles and in forging strong partnerships”,

The French automaker announced the vehicle as being “affordable”, but didn’t release any pricing information.

More information will be available when the vehicle is released next year.

They first plan to make it available in China and Europe will follow a year later.

The only spec that they confirmed is the range, which they claim is 250 km (155 miles), but they used the NEDC cycle for some reason:

“A pioneer and leader in 100% electric mobility, Groupe Renault unveiled showcar Renault K-ZE, a new global A-segment, SUV-inspired electric vehicle, capable of 250km NEDC – the best autonomy in its segment.”

We expect the real world range to be close to 190 km (118 miles).

Here are a few images of the show car Renault K-ZE unveiled today ahead of the production version next year:

Electrek’s Take

We often say that electric vehicle range is not as big of a deal that most people make it out to be. The average commute is 30 miles and therefore, 100 miles of range is good enough to replace a lot of gas mileage.

That said, launching a new EV in 2019-2020 with less than 200 miles of range is a strange bet.

When Renault says that the vehicle is “affordable”, they better mean it. It better not be a $30,000+ vehicle for that size and options.

I think if they can hit something around 20,000 euros (~$24,000 USD), it might work out for them.

The ZOE would be more expensive and smaller, but it has a much greater range than the new K-ZE.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.